Manufacturing economies struggle as U.S. tariffs hit
By: Jonathan Cable
and Sam Holmes
Reuters
LONDON - the world's big manufacturing economies struggled to fire up in October, [2025] business surveys showed on November 3, [2025] President Donald Trump's tariffs hit factory orders.
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Factories in the United States have also been battered by the import duties. New orders were depressed and supply chains strained last month, [10/2025] resulting in manufacturing activity contracting for an eighth straight month.
..... Some manufacturers complained that the "unpredictability of the tariff situation continues to case havoc and uncertainly on future pricing or cost," adding that "challenges with tariffs on production equipment necessary for internal production makes it difficult to justify expansion of capacity."
..... Eurozone factory activity stagnated as new orders flat-lined and headcount fell, its purchasing managers' index showed, and its exporting powerhouse Germany showed little sign of recovery with production growth slowing again. German engineering orders plummeted in September, [2025] the VDMA engineering association said earlier November 3. [2025] France's manufacturing sector remained weak, while Italy's contracted marginally.
..... Spain stood out among the bloc's big our economies as its factories expanded at a faster pace than in September. [2025]
..... "The final release of the eurozone manufacturing PMIs confirmed the sector remains stagnant," said Paolo Grignani at Oxford Economics. "Details indicate growth is mainly due to solid domestic demand, while new foreign orders continue to send warning signals, with reports of weak demand from France and the U.S."
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In Britain, factories had their strongest month in a year, but the recovery was driven by a one-off bounce from there start of production at car-maker Jaguar Land Rover after it was hit by a cyberattack.
..... While Trump's visit to Asia last week [10-27-31/2025] led to some progress in trade negotiations with the regions large manufacturing economies such as China and South Korea, exporters remain cautious about U.S. demand.
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Manufacturing activity in China grew at a slower pace last month [10/2025] while it fell in South Korea, with export orders in both countries decline, private-sector PMIs for October [2025] showed November 3. [2025] The October 31 [2025] official PMI survey showed China;s factory activity fell for the seventh straight mouth, confirming suspicions that the earlier export rush to get ahead of U.S. tariffs had definitively ended.
..... In a meeting in South Korea on October 30, [2025] Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to de-esclate tensions, including through a one-year delay in reciprocal tariffs, but the agreement does little to address a deeper divide between the world's two economic superpowers.
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Policymakers in Beijing are looking to see whether China's $19 trillion economy is on track to hit its official 2025 growth target of around 5% without needing to reach for further stimulus. Trade date for September [2025] showed China;s exports rising faster than expected, although this was mostly due to growth in new markets as U. S.-bound shipments tumbled 27% year-on-year.
..... Similarly, Seoul's trade deal with Trump secured lower U.S. tariffs on Korean goods, but was seen at best as a compromise.