A GROWING number of Chinese companies are adopting a crafty way to evade U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs: remove the “Made in China” label by shifting production to countries such as Vietnam, Serbia and Mexico.

The world’s two largest economies have been locked in a months-long trade fight after Trump imposed 25-percent customs duties on US$50 billion worth of Chinese goods this summer.

Chinese factories making everything from bikes to tires, plastics and textiles are moving assembly lines abroad to skirt higher customs taxes on their exports to the United States and elsewhere, according to public filings.

Hl Corp., a Shenzhen-listed bike parts maker, made clear to investors last month that tariffs were in mind when it decided to move production to Vietnam.

The factory will “reduce and evade” the impact of tariffs, management wrote, noting Trump hit e-bikes in August, with new border taxes planned for bicycles and their parts.

“It’s inevitable that the new duties will lead companies to review their supply chains globally — overnight they will become 25 percent less competitive than they were,” said Christopher Rogers, a supply chain expert at trade data firm Panjiva.

Supply chains have already begun relocating out of China in recent years due to its rising labor and environmental protection costs. Tariffs are adding fuel to the fire, experts and companies say.

“China-U.S. trade frictions are accelerating the trend of the global value chain changing shape,” said Cui Fan, research director at the China Society of WTO Studies, a think tank affiliated with the Commerce Ministry.

“The shifting abroad of labor-intensive assembly could bring unemployment problems and this needs to be closely watched,” Cui said, adding the shift would not help the United States’ overall trade deficit.

The growing list of foreign firms moving supply chains away from China includes toy company Hasbro, camera maker Olympus, shoe brands Deckers and Steve Madden, among many others.

Some Chinese factories are doing the same.

Zhejiang Hailide New Material ships much of its industrial yarns, tire cord fabric, and printing materials from its plant in eastern Zhejiang Province to the United States and other countries.

Other moves abroad spurred on by tariff risks include a garment maker going to Myanmar, a mattress company opening a plant in Thailand and an electronic motor producer acquiring a Mexico-based factory, according to public filings from the firms.(SD-Agencies)