Hundreds of companies write to Trump to oppose tariffs on China

Hundreds of companies, including Walmart and Target, along with trade associations, sent a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday that says an escalation of the trade tensions with China would hurt families, jobs, and the American economy.

A ship docked at the Port of Long Beach in California on August 22, 2018. [File photo: IC]

The letter, which carries 661 signatures, was organized by a business coalition called Tariffs Hurt the Heartland. It comes as the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative prepares for public hearings on Monday regarding a proposal to extend President Trump's 25 percent tariff on 250 billion U.S. dollars' worth of imports from China. Under the proposal, practically all imports from China would be subject to the tariff, including toys, shirts, household goods, and sneakers.

"We know firsthand that the additional tariffs will have a significant, negative and long-term impact on American businesses, farmers, families and the U.S. economy", the letter stated.

Some of the companies that signed the letter. [Photo: cctv.com]

The letter warned of the damage the tariffs would do to the American economy, saying that, when combined with the existing import tariff, the results would be "the loss of more than 2 million U.S. jobs, add more than $2,000 in costs for the average American family of four and reduce the value of U.S. GDP by 1.0 percent."

(Story includes material sourced from AP.)