China-US trade war has cost $68 billion in tariffs so far
The American Apparel & Footwear Association and Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America are among the signatories of a letter that 160 agriculture and business organisations have sent to President-elect Joe Biden about the US’s ongoing trade dispute with China.
The letter congratulated Mr Biden on his election win in November and urged him and his transition team carry out an “early review of how current US trade policy and actions are adversely impacting our economy, particularly as it works to sustain a recovery from covid-19”.
Specifically, the signatories urged the president-elect and his transition team to address “the China challenge” with a view to removing ongoing disputes and removing tariffs. They said that, as a result of the trade war with China, which began at the start of 2018, US businesses had paid more than $68 billion in tariffs.
“Finding a way to remove the tariffs while creating an effective new, multilaterally-supported approach to China trade issues would provide an immediate economic boost to US companies,” the letter concluded, “especially small and medium-sized companies.”
Image shows Yangshan Port, near Shanghai.
Credit: Bruno Corpet (Quoique)
