US Chamber of Commerce opposes tariffs against China

The US Chamber of Commerce on Friday announced its opposition to the Trump administration putting a 25 percent tariff on $50 billion of imports from China, saying it's "not the right approach''.

The US Chamber has vocally opposed using tariffs as a way to address China's trade and investment policies and practice, US Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue said in a statement after the tariffs were announced earlier Friday.

Imposing tariffs places the cost squarely on the shoulders of consumers, manufacturers, farmers, and ranchers in the US, he said. "This is not the right approach," Donohue said.

Kevin Brady, US House Ways and Means chairman, said, "While it's encouraging that not all of the initially proposed tariffs will be implemented – as a result of the comment period that Congress called for – I am alarmed that additional products are now placed on the list for possible future action."

"These tariffs make it more difficult to sell more 'Made in America' products globally and expose many of our industries – particularly agriculture and chemicals – to devastating retaliation," he said in a statement on Friday.

China responded to the US tariffs announcement, with the Ministry of Commerce saying it will take immediate countermeasures on US products with equal force and scale.

China doesn't want to engage in a trade war but has to fight back in the face of the US' short-sighted tariff move to safeguard its interests, to protect globalization and multilateralism, the ministry said, adding that all economic and trade outcomes achieved through previous China-US negotiations will not take effect.

The latest round of high-level China-US trade talks was held in Beijing June 2-3, headed by Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He and US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross.

They had "good communication" in various areas such as agriculture and energy, and made "positive and concrete" progress while relevant details are yet to be confirmed by both sides, according to a statement issued after the negotiations.

The statement noted that to meet the people's ever-growing needs for a better life and the requirements of high-quality economic development, China is willing to increase imports from other countries, including the US, which will benefit people of both countries and the rest of the world.

However, "all economic and trade outcomes of the talks will not take effect if the US side imposes any trade sanctions including raising tariffs", the statement noted.