US ITC data: in 2024, China's share of US imports was 86% for US game consoles, 79% for PC monitors, 73% for smartphones, 70% for batteries, and 66% for laptops
Context & Ripple Effects
The ITC figures establish how concentrated US sourcing remained across consumer electronics and batteries in 2024. That concentration is the baseline for later coverage of tariff-driven console production shifting toward Vietnam and Vietnam subsequently becoming the leading US supplier of laptops and consoles.
The story matters because it distinguishes broad Chinese manufacturing dependence from the later reallocation of selected product lines, rather than treating either condition as universal.
First-order effects
- US importers of consoles, monitors, smartphones, batteries and laptops were highly exposed to changes affecting Chinese production, shipping, or trade terms because China supplied the bulk of these categories in 2024.
- The concentration gives Chinese manufacturers an entrenched position in the US-facing supply chains for these products, especially consoles and monitors.
Second-order effects
- Companies seeking to reduce exposure have an incentive to qualify alternative assembly locations and suppliers; later reporting that Vietnam led US laptop and console supply in 2025 shows that this adjustment can move quickly in particular categories.
- Diversification is likely to be uneven: products with lower Chinese import shares or more transferable final assembly can shift sooner, while deeply concentrated categories may retain greater sourcing risk.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern of targeted relocation persists, US electronics sourcing may become more geographically diversified without fully displacing China’s role in component and manufacturing ecosystems.
- Trade policy and supply-chain resilience will increasingly be assessed at the product-category level, since the data show that dependence differs materially among consumer devices and batteries.
The trend: This is one data point in the shift from China-centered US electronics sourcing toward product-by-product, multi-country supply chains.