Asia’s manufacturing sector slowed sharply in October as U.S. tariffs under President Donald Trump reduced export orders and weakened demand, according to Reuters. New purchasing managers’ indexes showed that factory growth in China and South Korea fell, confirming that earlier export surges to beat tariff deadlines have faded.
China’s official PMI dropped for the seventh straight month, signaling continued strain on the world’s second-largest economy. Zichun Huang, an economist at Capital Economics, said China “lost momentum” in both manufacturing and construction, with only limited benefit expected from last week’s U.S.–China trade truce. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to delay new reciprocal tariffs for a year, but the deal did little to resolve deeper economic tensions.
South Korea’s factory output also contracted despite securing a lower-tariff trade deal with the U.S., while Malaysia and Taiwan posted further declines. India stood out as an exception, with its manufacturing sector expanding thanks to strong domestic demand. Vietnam and Indonesia also saw moderate gains.
Economists say the broader outlook for Asia’s exporters remains fragile as U.S. tariffs and cooling global growth weigh on trade volumes. China’s exports to the U.S. fell 27% year over year in September, even as shipments to new markets climbed.
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