A year after many companies moved sourcing out of China to limit U.S. tariff exposure, some are restoring Chinese production or orders. Reuters reports that matching China’s factory ecosystem elsewhere has been harder than expected - skilled labor, supplier networks, and reliable power remain uneven in several alternative hubs.
Diversification into Southeast Asia continues, but the tariff advantage of some alternative countries has narrowed as U.S. duties were extended more widely. There is not yet hard data showing how much volume is returning; reporting is based on buyer and supplier accounts.