The supply chain is not ＂plug and play＂ and cannot satisfy the ＂fantasy＂ of American trade policy.

　　Xinhua News Agency, Washington, August 20thCommunication: the supply chain is not "plug and play" and cannot satisfy the "fantasy" of US trade policy.

　　Xinhua News Agency reporter Gao Pan Sun Ding

　　"The supply chain is not ‘ Plug and play ’ , they cannot be easily reconfigured to meet the ‘ Fantasy ’ 。” At the hearing held by the Office of the US Trade Representative in Washington, D.C. on the 20th to impose tariffs on China’s products exported to the United States, Edward Breitwa, director of international trade of the American Chemical Council, poured cold water on the US government’s attempt to forcibly move the supply chain back to the United States by imposing tariffs.

　　"The manufacturing supply chain does not exist out of thin air, but follows the changes of market forces. It is very complicated and relies on interrelated networks and channels to push finished products to the market, so it is vulnerable to the destructive influence of tariff and non-tariff barriers," explained Breitwa. "Forcing enterprises to reconfigure the supply chain will threaten their survival."

　　Breitwa, who attended the hearing on behalf of American chemical manufacturing enterprises, was deeply disappointed that the US government did not listen to the suggestions of the association in July. At that time, the association suggested that about $2.2 billion of chemical and plastic products imported from China should be excluded from the tax list.

　　He warned that if the U.S. government continues to impose tariffs on China, about 16.4 billion U.S. dollars of chemical and plastic products imported from China will face tariff increases, which may have an "irreparable" impact on the U.S. chemical industry. At the same time, China’s countermeasures against American chemical products will also make the American chemical industry lose the China market.

　　"We reiterate in the strongest terms that the best way to protect the interests of the US chemical industry and the entire manufacturing industry is to withdraw chemical products from the forefront of the trade war." Breitwa said.

　　Like Breitwa, representatives from many industries in the United States, such as semiconductors, bicycles, clothing, luggage and so on, also stressed that it is very difficult to move the production line out of China, let alone back to the United States, because China has accumulated rich manufacturing experience and established an efficient and mature supply chain network over the years.

　　Stephen Lang, president of the American Wedding Dress Industry Association, said that China’s dominant position in clothing production means that the United States almost inevitably imports clothing products from China, especially wedding dresses can no longer be produced in the United States, and the United States not only lacks fabric supply, but also lacks production skills at all levels.

　　Lang, who is also the owner of a clothing company, pointed out that the characteristics of fashion products make it impossible for clothing importers to hoard a large number of goods before any potential tariffs take effect, which means that if a 25% tariff is imposed on imported wedding dresses, suppliers, importers and consumers will be forced to share higher costs, and he will move his clothing company out of the United States.

　　Stephen Lamar, senior vice president of the American Federation of Clothing, Footwear and Socks, also said that no country has the ability to produce a variety of products commercially like China, and 80% of the headwear sold in the US market comes from China.

　　He pointed out that in view of China’s dominant market position, the United States will impose a 25% tariff on headdresses imported from China, which means that headdresses imported from other countries in the United States will also increase in price, and headdresses are not a necessity, so consumers are bound to be unwilling to bear higher prices, so American enterprises that import and sell headdresses will be seriously affected. He reiterated the association’s opposition to the United States imposing tariffs on textiles, travel goods and headgear imported from China.

　　Ross Bishop, the owner of an American travel bag manufacturer, told Xinhua News Agency after the hearing that he tried to cooperate with a Vietnamese factory, but later found that the production cost was getting higher and higher, and finally decided to continue to cooperate with China suppliers, because China suppliers not only had exquisite manufacturing technology, but also had the highest cost performance. He accused the United States of "playing a political game" by imposing tariffs on travel bags imported from China, because imported travel bags did not pose a threat to national security.

　　The hearing on that day was the first of a series of six-day hearings on China’s tariff policy held by the Office of the US Trade Representative. More than 60 trade associations and business representatives attended the hearing all day, respectively expounding the impact of the US tariff increase on goods imported from China, and expressing their willingness to exclude their own enterprises or products from the tax list.

　　Officials from the office of the US Trade Representative and other government departments asked questions in a unified way after the statements and testimonies of each group of representatives. The reporter observed at the scene that the most frequently asked by American government officials was whether alternative sources of imports of China’s goods could be found, and the answers given by the participants were concise and consistent: "It is difficult" or "No".

　　"A bicycle has more than 200 different parts and components. It takes many years and a lot of money to transfer production to the United States. It is even more difficult to transfer production to the United States." Bob Mathieus, director of the American Bicycle Products Suppliers Association, told reporters that the manufacturing industry attaches importance to clustering. For the bicycle industry, China is the location of the cluster, with obvious scale effect and outstanding advantages in cost, efficiency and labor. About 94% of the bicycle imports in the United States come from China.

　　Jonathan Davies, vice president of the International Semiconductor Industry Association, said that in view of the globalization of the supply chain, US tariffs on China’s semiconductor products will also affect American semiconductor manufacturers with operations in China. He pointed out that increasing tariffs will increase the production cost of American semiconductor manufacturers, reduce the price competitiveness of products sold overseas, and reduce exports, which will lead to a decrease in R&D investment of enterprises, which will eventually hinder innovation and increase employment in the United States.

　　The American Chamber of Commerce, the largest business lobbying organization in the United States, also said in a written testimony recently that imposing tariffs on an additional $200 billion of China goods will "significantly expand" the harm to American consumers, workers, enterprises and the economy. "The number of written opinions and on-site testimonies submitted to the US Trade Representative against the Trump administration’s tariff policy fully demonstrates the harm that additional tariffs will cause."

　　"It is time for serious consultations with China to find a solution and prevent further damage to the lives of the American people." The American Chamber of Commerce concluded this way.