Representatives of American enterprises said that imposing tariffs on China products would damage the competitiveness of American industries.

Xinhua News Agency, Washington, July 30 (Reporter Gao Pan) The Office of the US Trade Representative recently held a hearing to discuss the issue of imposing tariffs on US$ 16 billion worth of products exported from China to the United States. Delegates at the meeting generally expressed their concern that the increase in tariffs would damage the US economy and reduce the competitiveness of US industries.

The American Semiconductor Association and the Semiconductor Industry Association said at the hearing that the United States accounts for 40% of the global market share of semiconductors, and its semiconductor trade with China is in a surplus, and more than 40% of the semiconductor products imported from China are produced by American local enterprises or American-funded enterprises. The main R&D and design of semiconductors are carried out in the United States, and the chips are only assembled in China. Adding tariffs will increase the cost of American enterprises, which is not conducive to R&D investment and damage the leading position of the United States.

The Consumer Technology Association bluntly told the questioning officials in the inquiry session that changing the source of suppliers is actually destroying the ability of enterprises to operate independently, which will lead to the loss of high-paying jobs in the United States.

The American Retail Industry Leadership Association is worried that increasing tariffs will affect American families, increase the daily costs of dealers, consumers and farmers, and it will take a long time to transfer the supply chain of consumer goods.

Many representatives from American associations and enterprises in chemical and plastic products, containers, electric bicycles, auto parts manufacturing and other industries said that they could not find suppliers other than China, and the domestic supply in the United States could not meet the current demand. They pointed out that China is an important source of chemical raw materials and electronic components. Many products are only produced in China on a large scale, so it is difficult to find substitutes. The domestic supply in the United States cannot meet the market demand for a while, and it will take a long time to adjust the supply chain. Imposing tariff measures will force enterprises to raise product prices, shift the burden to consumers, and even force factories to move overseas, which is not conducive to American enterprises to participate in international competition.

Many representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises in the United States complained about the serious impact of tariff increases. Brinley-Hardy said that the Trump administration recently imposed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum products, and on July 6, imposed tariffs on 34 billion US dollars of China products exported to the United States. This family business with a history of 179 years and five generations is facing the threat of closure, and the new tariffs will make the situation worse.

The Information Technology Industry Council of the United States also pointed out that imposing tariffs on China products may lead to the interruption of the global supply chain, which will seriously hurt small businesses in the United States, because changing suppliers is particularly difficult and costly for small businesses.

Among the participating enterprises, Logitech, Global Electronics, Banna Engineering, Fudiwei Company, etc. all have factories in China, and the representatives of these enterprises said that the companies did not encounter the problem of compulsory technology transfer in China.

The representative of Logitech said that the company has not licensed or been required to license the transfer of any technology to enterprises in China, nor has it been forced to transfer intellectual property or technology to enterprises in China. Logitech has not been restricted by the relevant administrative license or licensing requirements described in the US investigation report on China 301 in China.

The representative of Universal Electronics said that American enterprises have the ability to compete with anyone in a level playing field, but imposing tariffs will put American high-tech enterprises like Universal Electronics in a difficult position in global competition. The representative of the company urged the Trump administration not to impose tariffs, but to cooperate with enterprises to implement trade policies that are conducive to American employment and American enterprises to compete in the global market.

Adam Posen, director of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, an American think tank, told Xinhua that imposing tariffs on China products would be counterproductive for the American economy and enterprises, because it would increase the import cost of American enterprises and weaken their competitiveness.

A recent study released by the Peterson Institute for International Economics also shows that since most of the products listed by the United States for taxation in China are intermediate products and capital equipment, American enterprises that rely on importing parts from China and producing goods for global sale will be the hardest hit. Chad Bowen, a senior researcher at the institute, predicts that many American companies will follow the example of Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Company and relocate some factories overseas, which is the price of "bad trade policy".

On June 15th, the US government announced that it would impose a 25% import tariff on $50 billion goods originating in China based on the unilateral findings of the 301 investigation. Among them, the measures to increase tariffs on US$ 34 billion of China’s goods exported to the United States were implemented on July 6, and the issue of increasing tariffs on US$ 16 billion of China’s products exported to the United States needs to be consulted by the public.