THE US National Retail Federation (NRF) is looking forward to continued progress in talks between the US and China so that further tariffs can be avoided and existing ones lifted. The comments came in the wake of talks between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the recent G-20 summit in Japan.
Mr Trump had said that he would hold off imposing 25 per cent tariffs on an additional US$300 billion worth of Chinese goods, and would allow US firms to sell products to Chinese electronics giant Huawei, overturning an earlier ban.
NRF senior vice president for government relations David French was quoted as saying in a report by London's Air Cargo News: "We welcome the progress made during this meeting and hope it will result in a constructive approach to working with China to deliver significant reforms rather than one that punishes American consumers and threatens US jobs through tariffs.
"Pulling back from the brink of further tariff escalation is a good sign for retailers and their customers."
Tariffs of 25 per cent have already been levied on $250 billion in goods from China.
A report prepared for NRF highlighted that the proposed new round of tariffs would have cost Americans $4.4 billion each year for apparel, $3.7 billion for toys, $2.5 billion for footwear and $1.6 billion for household appliances.
Email | Print