Big players urge US president to return to negotiating table
14/06/2019
In the letter, addressed to President Donald Trump, the signatories expressed concern about “the escalation of tit-for-tat tariffs”, saying that they knew “first hand” that additional tariffs imposed on trade with China would have a negative, long-term impact on US businesses, farmers and families, as well as one the US economy as a whole.
“Tariffs are not an effective tool to change China’s unfair trade practices,” the letter said. “Tariffs are taxes paid directly by US companies, not China.” It warned that 25% tariffs on $300 billion in imports (in addition to the tariffs already in place) would result in the loss of more than 2 million US jobs, add more than $2,000 per year to the expenses of the average US family of four and reduce the value of the country’s gross domestic product by 1%.
It urged the administration to “get back to the negotiating table”.
In addition to USHSLA, signatories included major retail groups Wal-Mart, Costco and Target, the US’s most important West Coast port authorities, and footwear groups Puma, VF Corporation (Timberland’s parent group) and Foot Locker.
Share this story:
