China-US Trade Tensions: Final day of public hearings in Washington over proposed new tariffs

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02:12

Business leaders have wrapped up their sixth-and-final day lobbying the US government "for-and-against" more tariffs on China. President Trump wants more duties on another 200-billion dollars' worth of Chinese goods. CGTN's Daniel Ryntjes reports from Washington.

During six days of hearings, impacted business owners and trade groups have been seeking to influence the Trump administration, mostly requesting to be exempted.

Bick Singh, President and CEO of NewAge Casting imports steel pipes from China, used in building drainage systems.

BICK SINGH PRESIDENT AND CEO, NEWAGE CASTING "It's a rash decision by our heads. We are just caught up in an economic warfare and we're just taking turns trying to shoot each other. We're not going to make anyone's life easier. In fact, we're going to hurt our taxpayers of this country by increasing our consumer costs."

CIMC - a Chinese freight and transportation giant - is planning to invest in U.S. manufacturing to help meet future demand in China, Mexico and Canada. But, if tariffs are imposed on the company's imported truck bed chassis, that investment capital won't be available.

FRANK SONZALA CEO, CIMC USA "That tariff doesn't go into anybody's pocket but the government. The government is not going to give it back to us to build a plant. If we don't put that into a tariff, we'll use that to build factories and education the people and get the product going, hire more people and have more jobs. It's as simple as that."

Many companies also testified that retaliatory tariffs from China, including those targeting agricultural exports, will add a double burden on U.S. global competitiveness.

Many U.S. companies say they agree with the goal of opening up opportunities for them to compete in China on a level playing field.

DANIEL RYNTJES WASHINGTON "But, they say the proposal to tariff $200 billion in Chinese goods will only hurt them, because Chinese suppliers will refuse to absorb those costs. Daniel Ryntjes, CGTN, Washington."