The U.S. flag is seen in the wine section of a supermarket in Beijing, China, April 5, 2018. (Xinhua/REUTERS)
WASHINGTON, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Major U.S. business groups have urged the Trump administration to drop its plan to impose tariffs on Chinese goods ahead of key public hearings beginning Tuesday, arguing that tariffs would hurt U.S. companies and consumers.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said on Monday that it will hold public hearings on the Trump administration's proposed tariffs on approximately 50 billion U.S. dollars worth of imported Chinese goods from Tuesday to Thursday.
The tariff proposal is based on a so-called Section 301 Investigation into alleged Chinese intellectual property and technology transfer practices. The Chinese government has strongly condemned and firmly opposed the unfounded investigation and the proposed tariffs against Chinese products.
More than 120 industry and business representatives from the United States and China will have an opportunity to testify before the interagency Section 301 Committee on the potential impact of the tariff plan over the next three days, according to the USTR's Office.
As of Monday, the USTR's Office has received over 2,700 filings of written comments regarding the administration's tariff approach, with major U.S. business groups opposed to tariffs on Chinese products.
"Tariffs are hidden, regressive taxes that will be paid by U.S. businesses and consumers, paradoxically harming U.S. competitiveness," the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the largest business group in the country, said in its written comments submitted on Friday.
"U.S. tariffs, together with certain Chinese retaliation, will disrupt global trade and supply chains, further damaging American businesses, workers, farmers, ranchers, and investors," the U.S. Chamber of Commerce warned, adding "unilateral tariff strategies have no record of historical success and have always led to unintended consequences."
The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) also warned that the imposition of unilateral tariff remedies proposed by the administration is "premature" and would "do greater harm than good to U.S. economic interests."
"Unilateral imposition of tariffs prior to any meaningful negotiations with China will raise charges that the United States has ignored its WTO commitments," the NFTC said in its comments submitted last week, adding additional tariffs are "extremely likely" to increase the harm to American manufacturers, service providers and consumers.
The U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC), which represents 200 American companies that are engaged in business with China, also urged the Trump administration to reconsider its tariff plan.
"Unilateral tariffs will address none of these issues, however, and will inflict real economic harm on U.S. businesses and consumers," the USCBC said, suggesting a comprehensive and strategic approach that sets short, medium, and long-term negotiating objectives to address industry concerns.
Meanwhile, the National Retail Federation expressed concern that the two countries' trade dispute would harm the U.S. economy. It would reduce U.S. gross domestic product by nearly 3 billion dollars and destroy 134,000 American jobs annually, according to a new study recently released by the federation and the Consumer Technology Association.
