US business groups bash Trump tariffs as China talks intensify

US companies and business groups are lining up to oppose the Trump administration’s plan to slap tariffs on Chinese imports, as the two nations step up efforts to resolve their trade dispute.

About 120 firms and industry groups are expected to testify at a hearing beginning Tuesday on the administration’s plan to impose tariffs on US$50 billion in Chinese goods. So many groups signed up that the US Trade Representative’s Office extended the hearing by two days until Thursday. The USTR has received more than 2,700 comments.

The hearing will coincide with a planned trip by Chinese President Xi Jinping’s top economic adviser to Washington for broader trade negotiations, in a follow-up to talks led by US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in Beijing earlier this month.

Companies including US Steel Corp, Best Buy and General Electric, as well as lobby groups such as the National Retail Federation, Consumer Technology Association and National Association of Manufacturers, are set to testify this week. While they are generally supportive of US action to level the playing field on trade and investment with China, many want the talks to focus on resolving differences rather than the pursuit of tariffs.

Some companies, such as AK Steel Corp, are in favour of President Donald Trump’s plans to slap duties on Chinese goods to punish the nation for abuse of US intellectual property. US manufacturers, consumer products companies and technology groups that filed written submissions opposing the tariffs say they would raise input costs and consumer prices and draw crippling retaliatory duties from China.