Strong consumer confidence and concerns about a widening of the Trump administration’s tariffs on Chinese exports have led to a surge in U.S. imports of consumer electronics and home appliances ahead of the holiday shopping season. Seaborne imports of laptop computers surged 46.4% on a year earlier for the four months running to Oct. 31 – the main shipping season for holiday sales products. Meanwhile imports of TVs climbed 36.6% and audio systems increased 30.2% over the same period. A similar effect can be seen for household appliances with fridges rising 56.9% and microwaves by 20.0%. ...