US-China Trade: US businesses oppose additional tariffs at public hearings

World
Europe

No more tariffs, please. That's the message from a range of US businesses, at the conclusion of a week of public hearings on the impact of potential tariffs on 300-billion-dollars of Chinese goods. CGTN's Giles Gibson reports from Washington.

Shoe brands, bike manufacturers, toy companies, shipping firms. Companies have been lining up in the U.S. capital for more than a week to try to stop the next round of tariffs, which experts call "List 4."

ERIN ENNIS, VP US-CHINA BUSINESS COUNCIL "We are hearing from U.S. manufacturers and U.S. retailers that, if 'List 4' is implemented, prices will go up in the United States. That will have an impact on how much of those products are sold, which will affect the bottom line of retailers and those manufacturers. So, we do anticipate there will be both a jobs and sales impact."

The Trump administration, though, insists the next wave of tariffs would have a "very, very small" impact on consumers.

GILES GIBSON WASHINGTON "U.S. President Donald Trump also argues tariffs will force companies to move production out of China, and some have. Like GoPro, the manufacturer of this camera that I'm holding."

But the company is shifting those jobs to Mexico, not back to the USA. Meanwhile, many trade experts believe the hearings won't change President Trump's tactics.

DAN IKENSON CATO INSTITUTE "The Trump administration has been warned that the tariffs are going to cause great economic damage. We haven't seen it materialize just yet, and I think the president thinks his policies are working, thinks the Chinese economy is much more dependent on the U.S. economy than vice versa and that we could outlast the Chinese in a war of attrition here."

In just a few days, U.S. President Donald Trump and China's leader Xi Jinping will meet on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka.

Many in the U.S. business community will be hoping for a repeat of last year's G20 results-a pause in new tariffs and officials from both sides going back to the negotiating table. Giles Gibson, CGTN, Washington.