(Bloomberg) -- Chinese factories are responding to threats of a trade war by reducing prices, workers and investment, according to UBS Group AG.
Some 86 percent of companies affected by U.S. tariffs reported a decline in orders, according to a survey of 200 chief financial officers in manufacturing firms with significant export business. While most have plans to diversify into less trade-heavy sectors, they don't expect to fully offset weaker demand. Of the 125 companies saying business has already been hurt:
- 68 percent cut prices on products subject to levies
- 23 percent laid off staff
- 27 percent slashed capital expenditures
- 18 percent cut wages
A squeeze on corporate margins and employment threatens to deepen a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy. UBS predicts a 90-day truce agreed between U.S. President Donald Trump and China's leader Xi Jinping is only a temporary respite, putting the probability of a lasting agreement before March at less than 15 percent.
“Most companies expect the trade war to escalate,” analysts led by Wang Tao wrote, predicting that export growth will slow to 4 percent in 2019 from 11 percent this year. With that will come more price cuts and more layoffs in the next six months, according to the report.
Read More: China Is Paying for Most of Trump's Trade War, Research Says
The Chinese government has rolled out measures including tax breaks and subsidies to cushion the impact of tariffs on exporters, a strategy UBS expects will continue in 2019.
“We see the government easing macro policies to support growth, and provide some subsidies and tax cuts to support employment,” the analysts wrote.
To contact the reporter on this story: Xiaoqing Pi in Frankfurt at xpi1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Gordon at pgordon6@bloomberg.net, Jana Randow, David Goodman
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