US wraps up hearings on plan to hit all Chinese goods with tariffs as trade war nears first anniversary

US government hearings on proposed new tariffs on around US$300 billion of Chinese goods came to a close on Tuesday, after seven days of testimony by hundreds of companies and industry associations seeking shelter from the costs of the countries’ escalating trade war.

The hearings wrapped up in Washington just days before US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are to meet in Japan on Saturday in a bid to get trade talks back on track after a six-week impasse.

With the trade conflict set to pass the one-year mark on July 6, Trump has threatened to slap 25 per cent duties on the remaining untaxed Chinese goods, should the discussions go poorly.

More than 300 representatives from industries that would be hit by such tariff action have testified before an inter-agency committee over the past week, while close to 3,000 additional written comments have been filed to the office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) from companies including Apple, Fitbit and Keurig Dr Pepper.

Hailing from a broad swathe of largely consumer goods industries, many of those testifying on Tuesday expressed support for the hardline position the US administration has taken against China on trade.