Chinese Exporters Shift Production to Low-Cost Nations to Dodge Trade War

Chinese Exporters Shift Production to Low-Cost Nations to Dodge Trade War
Workers assemble products at a factory owned by Yakeda Outdoor Travel Products Co in Yangon, Burma on June 11, 2019. Ann Wang/Reuters
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GUANGZHOU, China/YANGON—Pressured by a labor crunch and rising wages in China, Shu Ke'an, whose company supplies bulletproof vests, rifle bags, and other tactical gear to the United States, first considered shifting some production to Southeast Asia a few years ago, but nothing came of it.

When trade tensions flared into a tariff war in 2018, however, it was the final straw.