US companies, consumers paying price for its tariffs

Editor's note: Some in the United States claim that increased tariffs on Chinese goods have had a positive effect, and not added extra costs to US consumers. But this completely contradicts the facts. Zhong Sheng, a columnist for People's Daily, comments:

The negative effects resulting from the extra tariffs on Chinese goods have extended to the daily necessities of US households. Those people heralding the tariffs as a pain-free way to attack China should listen to the protests from all walks of life against the wanton imposition of tariffs and correctly deal with growing complaints from the public.

In the era of economic globalization, the economies of all countries are intertwined. The ever-escalating tariffs imposed by the US are totally irrational and go against the basic laws of economics, and will harm the interests of US enterprises and end up making ordinary US people pay the bill.

Based on data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, International Monetary Fund researchers found that US importers bear almost all the costs of the higher tariffs. According to a J.P. Morgan report, if the US government does impose its latest threatened tariffs on Chinese goods, the average household income in the US would fall by $1,000 a year. A study by a US think thank also suggests that a 25 percent tariff on all Chinese imports would reduce 2.16 million jobs in the US. The US business community and ordinary people are fully aware that the escalation of trade frictions in the name of safeguarding national interests is just a deception by some for their own selfish interests.

Some in the US recently claimed that decoupling from China will make the US economy better. However, sober-minded analysts predict that decoupling from China would mean a recession for the US. An article recently posted on the website of the Foreign Policy magazine points out that seeking decoupling from China will also decouple the US from the global economy. The Wall Street Journal published two editorials in August, warning that the tariff policy and resulting uncertainties will slow the US economy and even plunge it into recession.

No one wins in a trade war. Faced with the growing pain caused to its industries, enterprises and consumers, the US should seek to negotiate a trade deal with China.