US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose 10 percent tariffs on the remaining US$300 billion of Chinese imports from Sept. 1 would hurt consumer purchases, raise prices further and limit hiring, four large retail trade groups warned on Thursday.
Trump earlier in the day moved to impose fresh tariffs after US and Chinese negotiators failed to kick-start trade talks between the world’s two largest economies.
The National Retail Federation, which counts Walmart Inc and Amazon.com Inc among its members, called the decision to impose new tariffs a flawed strategy that would hurt US consumers.
“We are disappointed the administration is doubling-down on a flawed tariff strategy that is already slowing US economic growth, creating uncertainty and discouraging investment,” senior vice president of government relations David French said in a statement.
Another influential trade lobby, the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), which counts retailers like Walmart, Target Corp and the Home Depot Inc among its members, said that the tariffs would raise prices for everyday items such as clothing, toys, home goods and electronics.
“This new 10 percent tariff is a direct hit on consumer products and family budgets... American families shouldn’t be a pawn in this trade war,” Hun Quach, RILA’s vice president of international trade, said in a statement.
The Office of the US Trade Representative did not have an immediate comment on the retailers’ protests.
Other trade groups such as the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America said that the tariffs could have a chilling effect on hiring.
“President Trump is, in effect, using American families as a hostage in his trade war negotiations,” the group’s president, Matt Priest, said in a statement.
Stephen Lamar, executive vice president of the American Apparel & Footwear Association said that the tariffs would be “hugely disruptive.”
While Trump uses tariffs as a negotiating tool, he had made good on previous threats regarding Chinese imports, he said.
“We’re telling people they should assume the tariffs will take effect on Sept. 1,” he said, adding that the group’s members were shocked and surprised that Trump had not allowed resumed US-China trade talks to proceed before threatening additional tariffs.
The measure would hit US consumers far harder than Chinese manufacturers, who produce 42 percent of apparel and 69 percent of footwear purchased in the US, Lamar said.
Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, in May said that prices for shoppers would rise due to higher tariffs on goods from China.
It would seek to ease the pain, in part by trying to obtain products from different countries and working with suppliers, the company said.
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