Marketplace has been following Lei’s business since 2018, just before President Trump imposed tariffs in his first term. Not only did his business survive the extra levies, but Lei said the percentage of his sales to the U.S. went up from 50% in 2018 to 70% at the start of this year.

China and the U.S. have agreed to more tariff talks amid a trade standoff and concerns over rare earths, President Donald Trump said Thursday after a call with China's leader. Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke on Thursday at a time when stalled tariff negotiations between their two countries have roiled global trade.

News of the call came as new data showed U.S. goods imports dropped significantly in April as sweeping tariffs rolled out.

U.S. President Donald Trump hiked nearly all of his tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to a punishing 50% on Wednesday in a move that’s set to hammer businesses from automakers to home builders, and likely push up prices for consumers even further.

Even before Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs on April 2nd, the median estimate among the 48 who were surveyed by the University of Chicago’s business school was that Mr Trump’s levies would raise inflation in 2025 by 0.

President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff plan would cut deficits by $2.8 trillion over a 10-year period while shrinking the economy, raising the inflation rate and reducing the purchasing power of households overall.

The president cited figures from the Congressional Budget Office to suggest tariffs could offset the cost of tax cuts, though he omitted important caveats for why that may not be the case.