The US new tariffs on China and other countries will mean higher prices for American families, a representative with the US National Retail Federation (NRF), the world’s largest retail trade association, said in a press release that the NRF shared with the Global Times on Wednesday.
The remarks came as the US President Donald Trump has made rounds of announcements to raise tariffs on its trading partners since taking office. This includes the additional 10 percent tariff on all imports from China under the pretext of the fentanyl issue, which already come into effect in early February.
“Supply chains are complex, retailers continue to engage in diversification efforts. Unfortunately, it takes significant time to move supply chains, even if you can find available capacity,” according to a press release from the NRF, citing NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold, in responding to inquiries for comment on the possible impact from Trump’s new tariffs on American consumers and the retail industry.
“While we support the need to address the fentanyl crisis at our borders, new tariffs on China and other countries will mean higher prices for American families. Retailers have engaged in mitigation strategies to minimize the potential impact of tariffs, including frontloading of some products, but that can lead to increased challenges because of added warehousing and related costs,” Gold said in the press release.
The NRF said that imports at the nation’s major container ports are expected to remain high as retailers continue to bring in cargo ahead of growing tariffs on China and threats against other countries, citing the Global Port Tracker report recently released by the NRF and Hackett Associates.
Previously, a NRF study in last November suggested that American consumers could lose between $46 billion and $78 billion in spending power each year if new tariffs on the six consumer product categories including apparel, toys, furniture, household appliances, footwear and travel goods, are implemented.
The proposed tariffs would have a significant and detrimental impact on the costs of a wide range of consumer products sold in the US, particularly on products where China is the major supplier, according to the study.
Since taking office in January, the Trump administration has announced rounds of tariffs on its trading partners.
On February 1, Trump signed an executive order to impose a 25 percent additional tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10 percent additional tariff on imports from China, drawing widespread opposition and immediate retaliations. He later paused the tariffs on Mexico and Canada for one month to allow negotiations. But the 10 percent tariff on imports from China went into effect.
On February 10, Trump signed proclamations to raise tariffs on aluminum from 10 percent to 25 percent and ended duty-free quotas, exemptions and exclusions for steel and aluminum tariffs.
On February 14, Trump signed an executive order announcing reciprocal tariffs on imports from other countries, imposing duties equivalent to the rates that trade partners levy on US exports. On Friday, Trump said levies on automobiles would come as soon as April 2.
Multiple Chinese ministries and the business community have firmly deplored and opposed US tariff moves on various occasions.
In response to a question regarding US tariff plans, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Tuesday that China always believes that protectionism will lead nowhere, and there is no winner in a trade war or a tariff war.
It is a universal consensus of the international community. The US should know this: what the international community needs is not imposing tariff, but addressing each other’s concerns through equal consultation on the basis of mutual respect, Guo said.
China will continue to take necessary measures to firmly safeguard our legitimate rights and interests, he said.
