US economy

Hundreds of companies urge Trump to drop new China tariffs


Hundreds of companies and trade associations have written to US President Donald Trump to request that he does not impose new tariffs on Chinese goods.

The letter — whose signatories include retailers Walmart, Target, Ikea and J Crew — which was made public on Thursday, urges Mr Trump not to go ahead with new, punitive tariffs of 25 per cent on more than $300bn of imports from China that are not currently subject to levies.

“The additional tariffs will have a significant, negative and long-term impact on American businesses, farmers, families and the US economy,” they wrote in a letter, which has 661 signatories. “Broadly applied tariffs are not an effective tool to change China’s unfair trade practices. Tariffs are taxes paid directly by US companies…not China”.

The letter, which is titled “tariffs hurt the heartland”, cites figures from Trade Partnership Worldwide that claim the new tariffs could result in the loss of two million jobs, add more than $2,000 in costs for the average American family of four, and reduce the value of US gross domestic product by 1 percent.

Mr Trump has repeatedly threatened to slap tariffs on imports from China not yet subject to US levies if the Chinese government did not agree to a deal to end the trade war between the two countries.

The president is expected to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of this month’s G20 summit in Osaka.

“We urge your administration to get back to the negotiating table while working with our allies to develop global, enforceable solutions. An escalated trade war is not in the country’s best interest, and both sides will lose,” Thursday’s letter to Mr Trump added.



READ SOURCE

Leave a Reply

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies.