Container ships docked at the Yangshan port in Shanghai, China, March 29, 2018. /AP
Container ships docked at the Yangshan port in Shanghai, China, March 29, 2018. /AP
American companies would incur losses up to hundreds of billions of dollars if their government gravitated toward a full decoupling from China, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said in a report published Wednesday.
"A 50 percent fall in U.S. foreign direct investment presence in China ($124 billion) could reduce U.S. GDP by four times that amount ($500 billion) annually," the chamber's report said.
Losing access to the China market could cost the U.S. aircraft and aviation industry $38 billion to $51 billion in annual sales, and job losses associated with this reduction could range from 167,000 to 225,000, according to the study.
"This outcome would reduce annual sales revenue by $83 billion and global share by 18 percent, and result in 124,000 lost jobs," said the report.
Although a full decoupling is unlikely to materialize, the chamber suggested that getting to know the consequences of the extreme scenario could help make U.S. policymakers more aware of the hefty cost.