BEIJING, May 21 (Xinhua) Under the Sino-US trade war, the two countries will increase tariffs, and American consumers will bear the final cost. So how much will this cost be? British BBC Chinese website reported on 20th that it analyzed the influence of tariff war on American consumers, taking sports shoes as an example.
[A big burden]
US President Trump threatened to further expand the scope of tariff increase after he increased the tariff on imports from China from 10% to 25%. The Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America estimates that the price of sports shoes will increase from $150 to $206 under high tariffs. Other kinds of shoes will have a similar increase in price.
For the average American family, this is a big burden.
How big is this burden? The following is the extra cost of an American family in buying shoes.
If you live in the United States and want to buy a new pair of shoes for your children, the American Footwear Dealers Association estimates that the price of new shoes will rise from $10 to $15.
And if your daughter wants to buy a new pair of basketball shoes, the price will rise from $130 to $179.
Your husband or wife may also say that he wants to buy a new pair of boots as a birthday present. It only costs $190 before the tariff increase, but it will rise to $249 after that.
【Additional costs are passed on to consumers.】
Don’t forget, if the United States really expands the scope of tariffs on China’s imports, the goods affected will be far more than shoes. Household appliances, beef, frozen fruits and vegetables will all be affected.
A study by the University of Chicago in the United States shows that after American consumers imposed tariffs on each other in China and the United States, the average selling price of washing machines increased by 12%, and the prices of dryers and other related products also increased. The price that American consumers have to pay in this round of Sino-US trade friction may rise later.
The American Apparel & Footwear Association estimates that if Sino-US trade friction escalates further, a family of four may spend about $500 more on clothes, shoes and other related products every year.
The increase in the price of goods is due to the fact that American companies have to pay extra tariffs to the US government when importing products from China, and some companies will choose to transfer these extra costs to consumers.
A study by Trade Partnership Worldwide also estimated that Sino-US trade friction increased the average annual expenditure of American families by $2,300.
【“Seriously "affect the US retail industry.】
US President Trump often said that if companies manufacture products in the United States or move their production lines to countries that are not affected by tariffs, such as Vietnam and Indonesia, they can avoid the impact of tariffs.
Data Map: On November 27th, 2014, the United States ushered in the "Black Friday" shopping season, and major shopping malls and supermarkets launched discounted goods, and customers queued up for shopping.
Rick Helfenbein, CEO of the American Apparel and Footwear Association, thinks that’s not easy. Some companies are moving their production lines to these places, but technology and workers’ skills are not so easy to transfer.
He revealed that 72% of shoes, 84% of accessories and 41% of clothes sold in the United States are made in China. He said that the American market is very dependent on China because it can’t find other places to import the corresponding goods. He described the United States as "trapped". He said that tariffs will "seriously" affect the US retail industry.
Andy Polk, spokesman of the American Shoe and Socks Dealers Association, told the BBC that domestic factories in the United States would not make some shoes that could be imported from China, and even if they did, it would be more expensive to make them in the United States than to import them from China.
He said that the retail price of hiking shoes made in the United States can reach 300 dollars, and the price of running shoes will be 150 dollars, or even more expensive.
Polk also criticized Trump’s tariff measures to reduce the company’s funds for product innovation. "Most companies have made budgets several months ago, and the factories in China have now started to make winter products, so we have begun to prepare the budget for the winter of 2020."
"If companies have to spend more money to stay in their biggest market, they will spend less on product innovation, design and technology." (End)
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