US Chamber of Commerce warns against US-China decoupling

Some major US industries will be crippled if the country decouples with China, the US Chamber of Commerce warned in its latest report.

If the US completely cuts off sales to China, the US aircraft and aviation industry will lose between $38 billion and $51 billion in sales annually which will result in job losses of between 167,000 and 225,000, said the Wall Street Journal, citing the US Chamber of Commerce's report.

Moreover, the media quoted the report, saying that banning US semiconductor firms from selling to China would cost the industry $83 billion in revenue and 124,000 jobs.

"If not staged properly and wielded properly," the US policies "could have very damaging impacts for US business", said Jeremie Waterman, the chamber's China chief, as quoted by the Wall Street Journal.

The report presented a worst-case scenario envisioned between China and the US, in an effort to pressure the US government to assess the cost of a hard-edged China policy, said the Wall Street Journal.

Charles Freeman, the chamber's senior vice-president for Asia, said that US policymakers need to understand the potential negative impact of their actions and figure out ways to also work with China.