Business leader says new China tariffs could cost Arizona money and jobs
May 10, 2019, 12:45 PM
(Pixabay.com Photo)
(Pixabay.com Photo)
PHOENIX – The top executive of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce said the tariff increases President Donald Trump levied against China early Friday will have an impact on the state, from hundreds of dollars in every family’s bottom line to jobs.
“It’s going to hurt Arizonans in the wallet,” Glenn Hamer, president and CEO of the business-promoting organization, told KTAR 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News on Friday.
“The average costs to a family of four in Arizona would be about an extra $767 per year if we went up to the 25 percent tariff level.”
And it could lead to loss of about 15,000 jobs, Hamer said, quoting the U.S. Chamber of Commerce study.
New tariffs were to be imposed on $200 billion in Chinese imports. Overall, as many as 1 million jobs in the United States could eventually be gone, Hamer said.
In a series of tweets, Trump said the tariffs would bring more wealth to the country and that they were going into the U.S. Treasury.
“This will affect every sector of our economy, whether it’s mining, semiconductors. Agriculture always gets the brunt,” Hamer said.
The U.S. Chamber said China could target $596 million of Arizona exports for retaliation. The state exports $29 million in cotton every year to China.
The state’s economy is doing well, Hamer said.
“It’s very, very important that the two leading economies in the world figure out a way to get to a good deal. End of story,” Hamer said.
