Companies caught in the crossfire of China-U.S. trade frictions are facing the harsh reality to rethink their supply chains, but it is not easy to adjust and shift the supply chains away from China, the U.S. National Retail Federation has said.
“Tariffs are taxes that raise costs for businesses and consumers,” Bethany Aronhalt, spokeswoman for the National Retail Federation, the world’s largest retail trade association, told Xinhua in an interview.
“For retailers, tariffs are very disruptive to complex global supply chains. Right now, retailers are assessing their supply chains to determine possible alternative sources,” she said.
However, “for many products subject to tariffs, China is the sole source of U.S. imports. No alternative sources exist,” she said.
The United States delivered a sharp escalation in the trade frictions with China in September with imposition of additional tariffs on Chinese goods worth 200 billion U.S. dollars. Those tariffs took effect on Sept. 24, starting at 10 percent and going to climb to 25 percent from Jan. 1 unless the two countries reach a deal.
The new wave of tariffs came on top of the 50 billion dollars worth of Chinese goods taxed earlier this year, meaning that nearly half of all Chinese imports into the United States face levies. China was forced to announce retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products.
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