China’s exports rose 8% in April as new US tariffs took effect

BEIJING (AP) - China has reported that its exports rose 8.1% in April from the year before in the tail end of a rush by companies and consumers to beat higher U.S. tariffs that took effect last month.

Imports fell 0.2% from the year before.

On a monthly basis, exports rose just 0.6% from March, while imports increased by nearly 4%.

China’s politically sensitive trade surplus with the United States was nearly $20.5 billion in April.

In the first four months of the year, exports to the United States were down 2.5% from a year earlier, while imports from the U.S. fell 4.7%.