By
Lisa Mascaro and Josh Boak | March 16, 2018 5:26 pm
WASHINGTON
(AP) — President Donald Trump is considering sweeping tariffs on imports from
China, with an announcement possible as early as next week. And that has
industry groups and some lawmakers scrambling to prevent the next front in a
potential trade war that could reverberate across the U.S. economy.
Early
indications from the White House have officials braced for tariffs across a wide
variety of consumer goods, from apparel to electronics, and even on imported
parts for products made in the U.S. The size and scope remain under debate, but
the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is warning that annual tariffs of as much as $60
billion on Chinese goods would be “devastating.”
Trump’s
focus on China could be even more consequential, both at home and abroad, than
the recently announced penalty tariffs on steel and aluminum. And amid the staff
turmoil at the White House, it’s being read as a sign of rising influence for
the administration’s populist economic aides, led by Commerce Secretary Wilbur
Ross and adviser Peter Navarro.
Even
Larry Kudlow — an avowed free trader tapped to replace Gary Cohn as director of
the White House National Economic Council — has said that China deserves a
“tough response” from the United States and its friends. He told CNBC this week,
“The United States could lead a coalition of large trading partners and allies
against China.”
But
with these tariffs, the Trump administration appears so far to be content to go
it alone.
On
Friday, the National Retail Federation, which recently hosted industry groups to
organize opposition to another round of tariffs, convened a conference call to
update its members. “They’re all concerned about this,” said David French, vice
president for government relations. “Tariffs are a tax on consumers and they’re
best used sparingly as tools.”
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