国内英语资讯:Xinhua Headlines: Marathon hearings shed light on U.S. tariff harm, cherished ties with Chin_时事

国内英语资讯:Xinhua Headlines: Marathon hearings shed light on U.S. tariff harm, cherished ties with Chin

Ahead of the hearings, hundreds of U.S. companies and associations signed a letter to President Donald Trump, urging an abandonment of the tariff hikes, saying they "remain concerned about the escalation of tit-for-tat tariffs" between the world's top two economies.

"We know firsthand that the additional tariffs will have a significant, negative and long-term impact on American businesses, farmers, families and the U.S. economy," read the letter, released by Tariffs Hurt the Heartland, a U.S. nationwide anti-tariff campaign. "Tariffs are taxes paid directly by U.S. companies."

When it is estimated that existing tariffs on China have cost an average American family of four more than 800 dollars per year, the Tax Foundation, a Washington D.C.-based independent tax policy noNPRofit, said the proposed tariffs would impose nearly 2,000 more dollars per year.

Major U.S. tech companies including Apple, Microsoft and Intel warned that the proposed tariffs would crimp innovation and competitiveness.

U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein of California said she has heard from companies about the pain the tariffs are causing "by disrupting their supply chains and raising their costs of doing business in ways that damage their competitiveness and in some cases, threaten their existence."

Worse, when prices on safety products, including child car seats, get higher, it could put lives at risk.

"We are concerned that without affordable access to a safe car seat and safe sleep products parents may be forced into makeshift alternatives or go without protective products at all," said Lisa Trofe, managing director of the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association, a national trade organization.