Trade coalition rails against further China duties

More than 150 trade associations say they do not want to see an escalation of the United States’ trade dispute with China.    A new coalition of more than 150 organizations and trade associations from a wide range of industries has come together to urge President Donald Trump and his administration not to impose additional tariffs on Chinese goods.
   The coalition, which includes representatives from the manufacturing, farming, retail, technology and energy sectors, among others, sent a joint letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer regarding the administration’s proposed tariffs on $200 billion in imports from China.
   The coalition letter came at the close of the end of a public comment period for the latest list of Chinese exports targeted for additional U.S. import tariffs. In addition to broad global tariffs on solar panels, washing machines, steel and aluminum imposed by the United States earlier this year, the Trump administration and Beijing have put into force reciprocal tariffs on $50 billion in goods from the other country, and the Chinese Ministry of Commerce has vowed to retaliate in kind for any additional tariff measures on the part of the U.S.
   The group said it understood and agreed with the Trump administration’s central motivation in imposing additional duties on Chinese goods, but warned the strategy is backfiring, as the new tariffs have already had a negative impact on American businesses and consumers.
   “Continuing the tit-for-tat tariff escalation with China only serves to expand the harm to more U.S. economic interests, including farmers, families, businesses and workers,” the coalition wrote in its letter to USTR. “Our organizations agree that longstanding issues in China have negatively impacted many U.S. companies, and we support the administration’s efforts to negotiate meaningful, binding and long-term solutions with the Chinese government, [but] applying these high levels of tariffs on Chinese products will continue to miss the mark.
   “The negative impact will fall particularly hard on small- and medium-sized businesses and their workers, who lack the scale, resources and options to weather or adapt to these tariffs,” the groups said, adding that tariffs “are counterproductive and so far have only produced increased costs” for U.S.-based businesses and consumers.
   According to the coalition, imposing a 25 percent tariff on a total of $250 billion in imports from China — i.e. including both tariffs that have already gone into effect and those currently under consideration — would result in an additional $62.5 billion in tariff costs for U.S. businesses and consumers each year. By contrast, the U.S. government collected only $33 billion in total tariffs on all global imports in 2017.
   “The effects of the administration’s actions will most hurt the very consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses, manufacturers, farmers and workers the administration wants to protect,” the group said. “Should all trade to and from China be subject to tariffs, the impacts and disruptions to the U.S. economy would reach across the entire country, from sector to sector, and negatively impact every American family.”
   In addition, the coalition argued that tariffs are the wrong approach if the administration aims to bring manufacturing and sourcing back to the United States.
   “Assumptions that U.S. companies can simply move their production out of China are incorrect,” it explained. “Global supply chains are extremely complex. It can take years to find the right partners who can meet the proper criteria and produce products at the scale and cost that is needed.
   “We do not support the U.S. government using tariffs as a means to induce U.S. companies to change their sourcing strategies.”
   The group further asserted that USTR should abandon its strategy of escalating tariffs as a means to get China to the negotiating table on “longstanding trade and investment issues.”
   “Although the administration continues to argue that it will escalate tariff actions against China until China alters its behavior, we have seen no indication of China changing course,” the letter said. “We request that every effort be undertaken now to initiate meaningful negotiations expeditiously. We recommend no further tariff actions be taken until those negotiations have a chance to produce significant and verifiable results, and the administration can fully assess the impact of tariffs thus far on American businesses, farmers, manufacturers, jobs and consumers.”
   Signatories to the coaliton letter include the Agriculture Transportation Coalition, Airforwarders Association, American Apparel and Footwear Association, American Association of Exporters and Importers, American Association of Port Authorities, American Beverage Association, American Chemistry Council, American Petroleum Institute, Association of Equipment Manufacturers, Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, Consumer Technology Association, Distilled Spirits Council, National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones, National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America, National Foreign Trade Council, National Retail Federation and Retail Industry Leaders Association.