Tariffs don't work: U.S. retailers tell Trump

U.S. retailers on Friday urged President Donald Trump to reign in his threat to slap tariffs on an additional $100 billion of Chinese goods, warning that a trade war would be disastrous for the U.S. economy, including consumers.

Shoppers leave a Toys R Us store during a liquidation sale Friday, March 23, 2018 in U.S.. [Photo: AP]

"Tariffs don't work. Trade is a good thing for the U.S. economy, and we encourage the president and the Chinese to work it out through negotiation, multilateral engagement," said the National Retail Federations' Senior Vice President for Government Relations, David French.

"Tariffs are taxes and eventually they will find their way into everyday goods that Americans buy in the form of higher prices," added French.

China warned on Friday it was fully prepared to respond with a "fierce counter strike" of fresh trade measures if the United States follows through on President Donald Trump's warning.

Trump, in light of what he called China's "unfair retaliation" against earlier U.S. trade actions, had upped the ante on Thursday by ordering U.S. officials to identify extra tariffs, escalating a tit-for-tat confrontation with potentially damaging consequences for the world's two biggest economies.

China's Commerce Ministry spokesman, Gao Feng, called the U.S. action "extremely mistaken" and unjustified, adding that the spat was a struggle between unilateralism and multilateralism. He also said no negotiations were likely in the current circumstances.

French said retailers were looking for alternative suppliers amid the uncertainty with China, but that nothing could be accomplished quickly.

"When you do business internationally, it takes a long time to verify that a supplier is trustworthy, that you want to be in a business relationship with them," he explained. "It's something that is not easily done overnight."