On the 20th, the series of hearings on the US government's proposed tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese exports to the United States entered the fourth day. Puzzled, displeased and uneasy, dozens of entrepreneurs from the Textile, Chemical, Pharmaceutical, Clothing, Health Care, Sports, Fireworks and other industries in the United States entered the International Trade Commission in South City, Washington, D.C., and they argued with reason, hoping that the vision of not imposing tariffs would eventually become a reality.
After the relevant hearings last year, many U.S. companies imported products from China were removed from the tariff list, however, with the US government threatening to impose tariffs on 300 billion Chinese goods, a large number of products returned to the tariff list, causing widespread doubts and deep uneasiness among US companies.
At the hearing, Kimberly Glass of the National Council of Textile Organizations said that some imports that had been reviewed by the U.S. government and eliminated from the previous tariff list were now reappearing on the tariff list, making the textile industry "seriously worried."
Stevenson Moore, from Phoenix Aromatic Essential Oils Company in New Jersey, said the company's chemical ingredient vanillin, which was added to the tariff list last year and removed after the hearing, felt that since it was reasonable to remove the list at that time, it is also reasonable to move out of the list now.
Linda O'Neill, vice president of the Association of Health Industry Distributors, said the association hopes that U.S. officials will pay special attention to products that have been removed before, and also opposes tariffs on any health products.
On the same day, the founders of a number of American companies also rushed to the scene of the hearing.
Jacqueline Bennett, founder of Bennett, an American women's clothing brand that has set up factories in China, said the company has paid a 16 to 32 percent tariff to the U.S. government and can no longer afford the new tariffs or it will go out of business.
Ryan McFarlane, founder of Stright International Sports, the american bicycle manufacturer who invented the pedalless children's balance bike, shared the same concerns about the U.S. tariffs. "If we stay in China and pay the tariffs, our company will die; if we go to other countries, we will die," he said. He appealed to U.S. officials present so that American children could continue to ride, hoping that the government would not impose tariffs.
Among the many business founders, a female entrepreneur with her father's long-cherished wish was particularly touching to the audience. Patricia Phillips, from North Carolina's chemical company SNP, choked up that her father founded the company more than 50 years ago but died last week. After her speech at the hearing last year, the U.S. government removed imported alginic acid, which is crucial to the company, from the tariff list, making her father extremely proud of her. Today she had to come back here to call for no tariffs, and hopefully this time she will do the same.
Despite the uneasiness and anxiety in the statements of the vast majority of U.S. business representatives, the top concern of U.S. officials on the podium remains "Can you find suppliers outside of China?" After they asked questions over and over again, the vast majority of entrepreneurs gave a negative answer.
Chris Sarkett, a senior marketing manager at Bell Sports, showed U.S. officials the helmet products imported from China and said no alternative sources outside of China that could provide low costs and infrastructure had been found.
Dennis Tris, chief executive of Mitsubishi Chemical America, said the tariff increase list included a variety of essential raw materials for the company's U.S. plants, and that China was "the only source of supply that could meet the quantity and quality standards."
Timothy Matthews, president of the Jewelry Channel, a U.S. jewelry distributor, said they had been looking forward to expanding their supply sources in South Asia, but the results were unsuccessful because other countries lacked the labor skills of Chinese workers, and the local regulatory environment was not satisfactory, far behind China in terms of craftsmanship and production.
Bennett also said she has visited 14 countries in Southeast Asia and beyond to try to open factories, warehouses or seek joint venture partners, but the quality and quantity of products are not satisfactory.
Sidney Stein, vice president of Stan Fiber Co., Ltd., which has long operated mattress fireproof materials, said that the U.S. government stipulates that mattresses sold in the United States must be supplemented with fireproof materials, which are basically produced in China, and the production capacity in other regions cannot meet the needs of the United States. As for whether he could find a supplier of materials outside of China, Stan's answer was straightforward: "No." We need China. ”
Source: Xinhua Net