US small businesses continue pleas for China tariff relief despite Trump threats

Though new or higher tariffs appear all but inevitable under Donald Trump’s imminent second term as US president, some American small businesses still hope their pleas of lifting the import duties imposed since 2018 will be heard, said a senior US trade analyst.

Policymakers in both countries “should listen attentively” to American businesses that trade with China, Douglas Barry said. His newly published book Smart Rabbits tells the stories of US enterprises that have endured the trade war and subsequent worsening of the bilateral relationship.

Barry is a former executive of the US-China Business Council, a Washington-based non-profit organisation.

“But as of this writing, the tariffs are still on despite reports that they have cost US businesses and consumers US$125 billion … and increasing by US$3 billion each month,” he said.