By Lisa Baertlein and Ellen Zhang

LOS ANGELES/BEIJING (Reuters) – U.S. imports from China ended the year strong after some companies stockpiled shipments of clothing, toys, furniture and electronics ahead of plans by President-elect Donald Trump will impose new tariffs that will revive the trade war between the world. economic superpowers.

Trump, who has threatened to slap tariffs on 10% to 60% of goods from China, took office on January 20. In his first term, Trump has primarily targeted parts and components in China. Economists and trade experts predict his next wave of tariffs will apply to finished goods.

“Thus there will be an increase in exports of final products from China to the US, as importers seek to preempt possible tariffs on consumer goods,” said Frederic Neumann , chief Asia economist at HSBC in Hong Kong.

Chinese trade officials on Monday said exports in December surged to record levels and cited concerns about growing trade protectionism in the US and Europe.

The equivalent of 451,000 40-foot containers of goods from China landed in US ports in December, a year-over-year increase of 14.5%, according to trade data supplier Descartes Systems Group (NASDAQ:).

That caps a year when US imports of bedding, plastic toys, machinery and other products from China rose 15% from 2023, according to Descartes.

While some US retailers are rushing goods to avoid a cost hit from potential new tariffs, teasing out the true impact on overall import profits is difficult because importers are hiding the that data is private. Further complicating the analysis, strong US buyers boosted demand and some importers carried safety stocks to protect against disruptions from Houthi attacks on shipments near Suez Canal trade shortcut and a labor dispute at US East Coast and Gulf of Mexico ports.

Trump has also promised to impose tariffs on goods from several other countries, including North American neighbors Mexico and Canada.

As a result, many categories of US imports from all geographic sources posted meaningful gains in the fourth quarter, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Textiles and clothing jumped 20.7%; Entertainment products, especially toys, gained 15.4%; home furnishings increased by 13.4%; and home appliances and consumer electronics posted gains of 9.6% and 7.9%, respectively, according to S&P.

Consumer staples categories such as household and personal care as well as food and beverage, rose 14.2% and 12.5%, S&P said.