The worst fear of US industries is yet to come from Trump's tariffs

U.S. Companies have for months deplored tariffs on Chinese imports taking effect Friday. Now, they fear the worst is yet to come in a clash with Beijing over trade.

Rights on $ 34 billion of Chinese goods will come into effect at 12:01 am in Washington, the office of the US Trade Representative confirmed in an email on Thursday. China has promised to immediately impose the same retaliatory rights on US goods.

The United States also released a $ 16 billion list of targeted products, and Donald Trump ordered the USTR to identify an additional $ 200 billion. Chinese Products on Which It Is Possible to Collect Customs Duties

Companies General Electric Co. and Trade Groups such as The Chamber of Commerce asserts that tariffs are the wrong way to get them. address the allegations of intellectual property theft by China and that companies provide contingency plans in case of trade war.

Some companies are trying to persuade the Trump administration to back down. There is no choice but to reduce production, lay off workers and even transfer activities outside the United States to offset the additional costs of import duties

. all the effects of a trade war, "said Matthew Shay, president of the National Retail Federation." Reining in China's abusive trade policies is a goal shared by many countries, but a strategy based on tariffs Unilateral is the wrong approach and it must stop. "

Minder the Trade Gap

Deficit with other trading partners

Source: United States Department of Commerce

SEMI, which represents semiconductor companies and others in the manufacturing supply chain for the electronics industry, believes that the initial tariff will raise costs for its members from 20 to $ 35 million. The second $ 16 billion list of goods – which is more focused on technology products – could produce a bid of at least $ 500 million, said Jay Chittooran, the group's director of public policy.

that the second wave of promised tariffs will affect 2.2 billion dollars of imports of chemicals and plastics from China and 5.4 billion US dollars of exports to China from retaliation rights, said Ed Brzytwa, director of international trade. from a list of initial tariffs after companies and business groups objected. The merchandise included electric snowblowers and snowblowers manufactured by Snow Joe LLC of New Jersey said Joseph Cohen, general manager of the company.

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According to him, $ 16 billion worth of products covered by tariffs include Snow Joe tillers, garden growers and loggers. logs, and imposing duties means only higher prices for consumers and costs and uncertainty for businesses. "Fees are always a hard thing to watch because, unfortunately, the consumer hurts himself, business like mine hurts himself involuntarily in the process," Cohen said over the phone.

Soybean producers – including states that supported Trump in the 2016 election – are particularly affected by the retaliatory measures. China is the leading export market for American soybeans, with nearly $ 14 billion in sales and nearly a third of total soybean production in 2017, according to the American Soybean Association

Farming Pain

"said Max Baucus, a former Democratic senator from Montana and ambassador to China. He is co-chair of Farmers for Free Trade, a non-profit group.

"For farmers across the country, the trade war becomes real," Baucus said in a statement. US employers and exporters attempted unsuccessfully to remove 34 product lines from the tariff schedule. The company said the imposition of tariffs on products such as aviation and medical parts could affect US operations and jobs – including its Wisconsin facilities that employ 6,000 people.

"We remain concerned about these tariffs to compete in the global economy, and will shrink instead of increasing US exports," the company said in a statement. "We will work with the administration to minimize the potential impact on our businesses."

Still, there is no great hope that the administration will change its approach, said Brzytwa of the American Chemistry Council.

"There is a point of view everywhere in the government, and certainly in the White House, there will be suffering that the American industry will have to undergo to change the behavior of China," said Mr. Brzytwa on the phone. "We think you can change China's behavior without shooting yourself in the foot."