More than 600 U.S. companies have sent a letter to President Donald Trump, urging his administration to find ways to resolve the brewing tension between the Washington and Beijing over the lack of a mutual trade agreement.
Companies like Walmart Inc. WMT, +0.42% and Target Corp.
TGT, -0.28% among others have spoken out and pushed for the Trump administration to end the tariff war against China as the continuous rallying between the two economic superpowers are hurting American businesses.
The letter was sent by a group of 661 companies named Tariffs Hurt the Heartland, the national campaign against tariffs supported by more than 150 trade associations representing retail, tech, manufacturing, and agriculture, avoid additional tariffs and reach a resolution with China. The letter comes as the Office of the United States Trade Representative is set to begin hearings considering 25 percent tariffs on $300 billion in goods, 60 percent of which are consumer products. Five hundred twenty companies signed the letter, including some of the nation’s most recognizable brands, and 141 trade associations at the national and state level.
“We remain concerned about the escalation of tit-for-tat tariffs,” the letter states. “We know firsthand that the additional tariffs will have a significant, negative, and long-term impact on American businesses, farmers, families, and the U.S. economy. Broadly applied tariffs are not an effective tool to change China’s unfair trade practices. Tariffs are taxes paid directly by U.S. companies, including those listed below – not China,” read the letter.
“We urge your administration to get back to the negotiating table while working with our allies to develop global, enforceable solutions. An escalated trade war is not in the country’s best interest, and both sides will lose,” the companies and associations added.
The brewing tension between China and the U.S. have drag the U.S. market down with it seeing a 5-week decline in the last few weeks, the most extended series of fall since 2004. The organization warned that imposing new tariffs on an additional $300 billion in goods (combined with the impacted of previously implemented tariffs and retaliation) would result in the loss of more than 2 million U.S. jobs, add more than $2,000 in costs for the average American family of four and reduce the value of U.S. GDP by 1.0 percent.
