President Trump raised tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10 percent to 25 percent on Friday, and Monday morning China retaliated by
President Trump raised tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10 percent to 25 percent on Friday, and Monday morning China retaliated by raising its own tariffs on $60 billion of U. S. goods from 5 and 10 percent to four categories of 5,10,20 and 25 percent.
The U. S. tech industry immediately condemned the renewed trade spat, re-stating their arguments that tariffs will decimate American jobs, slash U. S. tech profits, and deliver a gut punch to GDP.
But despite the tech industry’s concerns, the data doesn’t align with their narrative.
The Internet Association — a tech trade group representing Silicon Valley heavyweights like Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Twitter — told Politico the tariffs will “limit internet companies’ access to critical components, and hit at the heart of how the sector creates jobs and contributes to a $172 billion digital trade surplus.”
In an April 22 letter to President Trump, the IA added, “As our coalition has made clear since the trade war began, tariffs are taxes that American businesses and consumers pay. To date, Americans have paid over $21 billion in taxes due to the imposition of new tariffs. Furthermore, every single second the tariffs remain in place, Americans are paying over $1,500 in added tariffs, and those figures don’t include the impact of retaliatory tariffs on U. S. farmers, manufacturers and exporters. These taxes and the uncertainty they’ve created have resulted in layoffs, deferred investments and price increases in every corner of the country.
