An aerial view of Dalian Port, Northeast China's Liaoning Province. Photos: VCG
Responding to US President Donald Trump's decision to impose additional tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China starting on Tuesday US time, CEO and Vice Chair of the US Consumer Technology Association (CTA) Gary Shapiro warned in a statement that the CTA provided to the Global Times on Tuesday that such move will fuel inflation and hurt US economy.
Trump has imposed 25 percent tariffs on most Canadian and Mexican imports and raised the charge on China to 20 percent, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
"Tariffs are taxes on Americans and American business, not foreign governments or companies. Adding tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico and China will raise prices for Americans at a time when inflation and affordability is their top concern," Shapiro said.
"Tariffs will drive inflation higher, just when we need lower inflation to drop interest rates... If we can drop interest rates two points, we could lower annual interest payments on the national debt by more than $700 billion," the CTA head noted.
The CTA is the organizer of the Consumer Electronics Show, the world's largest consumer tech conference.
In a further note, Shapiro said that tariffs will spur inflation, and not just on groceries. "The CTA research shows tariffs make the tech products Americans love and rely on more expensive. Our studies indicate that, if implemented as proposed by President Trump on the campaign trail, tariffs could result in a $90-143 billion decline in US consumer purchasing power for technology products."
"More, tariffs will strain our relationships with Canada and Mexico - two of our closest neighbors and key trading partners," Shapiro said, noting that these countries have already pledged to retaliate against US exports, causing even more damages to the US economy and creating a harmful cycle of retaliatory tariffs.
Tariffs are tools for resolving trade disputes, not political bargaining chips for issues like immigration or drug control, he said.
"We urge President Trump to focus on reaching agreements with our trading partners that allow us to step back from costly trade fights and fuel the American economy, fight inflation, and protect the pocketbooks of millions of Americans," Shapiro said.
