Trump’s Tough Talk On China Is Making American Companies Anxious

The United States (US) President-elect Donald Trump’s recent challenge to China on trade and Taiwan are distressing American companies who have benefited from stable relations between the two countries. They are now in fear of retaliation from Beijing if Trump were to act on the talk.

According to a Reuters report, the US business community is cautious of discussing their concerns about China publicly for fear of becoming a target for the president-elect, who has already singled out companies such as Carrier and Boeing. In the past, China has hit US goods with reciprocal tariffs in the case of a dispute. A case in point is 2011 when Beijing slapped duties on US-made large cars and sports utilities as part of a trade dispute.

There is, however, more to fear now. As per the US Census Bureau, the total value of US trade with China was $599 billion in 2015. Of this amount, $116 billion was exports to China. The US companies, on the other hand, imported $483 billion in goods from China. So if the US-China tensions were to intensify, American businesses would face the brunt.