US companies in China Report That Trump Tariffs Hurt Their Bottom Lines

Beijing (dpa) – More than 74 per cent of US companies in China reported that tariffs adopted as part of the US-China trade war are hurting their business, an industry group survey said Wednesday.

Manufacturers in China were the hardest hit, with more than 80 per cent reporting being harmed by both US and Chinese tariffs, according to a survey by AmCham China and AmCham Shanghai.

About one in five US companies experienced increased inspections, while more than 19 per cent reported slower customs clearance as the trade war between the world's two largest economies escalated in recent weeks.

More than 40 per cent of respondents said they were considering or have relocated manufacturing facilities from China to places such as South-East Asia and Mexico.

More than 35 per cent said they were changing their strategy to manufacture in China for the Chinese market, while more than 33 per cent said they were delaying or cancelling investment decisions, according to the survey.

The survey was conducted between May 16 and 20.

Earlier this month, negotiations between US and Chinese trade teams broke down, leading to the US raising tariffs on 200 billion dollars' worth of Chinese goods and China retaliating by hiking tariffs on 60 billion dollars' worth of US imports.

The US is accusing China of unfair trade practices such as forced technology transfers, intellectual property theft and favouring domestic firms over foreign companies.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said in a report Tuesday an intensification in the trade war could shave off as much as 0.7 per cent of the global GDP by 2021.