Hundreds of company and industry representatives descended on Washington this month to testify about proposed escalations in the yearlong US-China trade war, which President Donald Trump has suggested could take effect soon after his planned meeting at the end of the week with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Speaking before US trade officials, a large number of manufacturing representatives warned during the first two days of hearings that plans to target another $300 billion worth of imports from China would lead to higher costs for Americans and threaten US jobs.
The hearings were set to last seven days, with witnesses allowed to speak for five minutes each. Here’s what they told the Trump administration, according to US Trade Representative transcripts.
These tariffs will continue to do irreparable harm to our small business. The Section 301 tariffs from List One and Three have resulted in an unexpected cost of over $600,000, which is significant for a small business like ours. We have determined that an additional cost of the List Four tariffs on our business would be almost $1 million. –Teresa Hack, Channel Products
Imposition of these duties will make the problem of intellectual property theft by China worse, not better. – Ray Sharrah, Streamlight Inc.
These proposed actions would assist in eliminating China’s unfair acts, policies, and practices. And they would not cause disproportion economic harm to U.S. interests, including small or medium sized businesses and consumers. – Mike Branson, Rheem Manufacturers Company
In assembling in the United States, we are striving to achieve the Administration’s goal of shifting production out of China. However a tariff on this component will significantly restrict our ability to do so efficiently and economically. – Jennifer Dolin, Ledvance LLC
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