Technology companies have been feeling the sting of the escalating trade war between the United States and China. Now, they’re trying to avoid a proposed new round of tariffs that takes aim at many American tech products.
More than half a dozen big tech companies wrote to the Trump Administration this week asking it not to hit the products they produce in China with additional tariffs.
The White House has proposed a bill that would place a 25% tariff on $300 billion in Chinese goods not already subject to tariffs. The tariff would apply to a wide range of products, from live buffalo and primates to T-shirts and shoes. It would also cover laptops, video game consoles, battery cases and other products that tech companies say would increase costs for consumers or harm their abilities to make a profit.
“No one wins in a trade war, and an escalating tariff fight will inflict immense damage on American businesses, workers and consumers,” the Association wrote.
The trade dispute has forced some tech companies to look beyond China for new locations, mostly in Southeast Asia, to produce their goods. But leaving China is a slow and costly process, because the country has for decades amassed the infrastructure, talent and suppliers needed for manufacturing.