The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) has recommended the US Administration rescind a decision to hike tariffs to 25% on about US$200bn in goods exported from China.
AAPA also recommends the Administration postpone the process now underway to impose 25% tariffs on the remaining US$325bn in Chinese imports.
“AAPA is very concerned about the President’s decision to increase tariffs on Chinese goods and the expected retaliatory actions by the Chinese government,” said Susan Monteverde, AAPA’s vice president of government relations. “We urge the President to put a pause on this action and continue negotiations. Tariffs harm all Americans as the increased cost of goods imported and exported are felt throughout our nation.”
Hurting communities
Americans for Free Trade members have reiterated that tariffs are taxes, paid by American families, farmers, businesses, workers and communities, and not by the nations or foreign businesses on whose products the tariffs are imposed. AAPA, which is a member of the coalition said that tariffs have already caused US businesses to make redundancies, raised consumer prices, hurt American farm exports and threatened an otherwise productive economy.
In a letter to President Trump last month regarding US-China trade talks, 151 of the coalition’s partners, including AAPA, called for the full and immediate removal of all recently imposed tariffs, including U.S. tariffs and China’s retaliatory tariffs as part of a final deal; a deal that levels the playing field for US companies by achieving meaningful changes to address China’s unfair trade practices that put American technology, innovation and intellectual property at risk; and avoidance of any enforcement mechanism that would trigger further tariffs.
It also calls for clarity on how the tariff exemption process will be carried out in the event of a deal; and an economic assessment by the Administration examining the costs of tariffs for American businesses and consumers.
