ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, May 16, 1996 TAG: 9605160151
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEW YORK
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Combatants in the China-U.S. trade brawl are shooting from the highest levels of government and commerce. But the sanctions proposed by the United States could catch ordinary Americans in the crossfire.
``This is a ricochet hit on American families,'' Robert Hall, an international trade attorney for the National Retail Federation, said of the Clinton administration's plan to slap tariffs of 100 percent or more on $3 billion of imports from China, primarily clothing, sporting goods and electronic gear including telephones and fax machines.
The U.S. tariffs, announced Wednesday, would raise prices on a good portion of what American shoppers see everywhere from the discount lingerie vendor to the beachside surfboard store.
Still, consumers seemed to be taking the escalating trade fight with China lightly. Some considered the tariffs a justifiable response to Chinese purloiners of American software, movies and music.
``By stopping [the piracy], the U.S. can get back some of the respect that it's lost,'' said Mary Lynch, a legal secretary in Manhattan who was shopping for sewing notions in a Woolworth's store when she learned the news.
Her coworker, Jeannie Rusey, agreed, saying the government should do something to help entertainment companies victimized by piracy.
``I don't care how much money Walt Disney makes, per se,'' she said. ``But I know for a fact that when companies lose profits, it affects us, because people lose their jobs.''
The reaction of other shoppers suggested that the sanctions will hurt them by limiting their choices.
``I don't know how in tune they [customers] are of where things come from,'' said Mike Carr, 48, who was browsing in a Los Angeles men's clothing store for a shirt. ``If it's going to be a 100 percent duty, wow. That's going to increase the price and I'm not going to buy it.''
Chinese textiles are already subject to quotas and a tariff averaging 20 percent, costing the average American family about $10 per week, said Laura E. Jones, executive director of the United States Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel. To her, additional tariffs would tax Americans of moderate means to protect the profits of wealthy corporations.
``Why should middle America be paying more for their bras, underwear, pants and T-shirts, just to protect [revenues from] Michael Jackson CDs, Arnold Schwarzenegger videotapes, and `Babe'?'' Jones said. ``By trying to limit the goods from China, you're talking about a massive tax on clothing, and particularly low-cost clothing.''
Robin Lanier, vice president for international trade and environment at the International Mass Retail Association, said the higher duties would be a significant blow to American consumers and businesses.
Lanier's members include discount retailers such as the Dollar Tree Stores, a variety chain that sells all of its inventory, much of it imported from China, for $1 each. If a 100 percent tariff bumps the price of an item up to $2, they can't sell it. ``Big problem,'' Lanier said.
Businesses will have 30 days to make a case to regulators as to why the items they sell should be taken off the list before the sanctions take effect in June, just in time for Christmas imports to cross the borders.
The effect on catalog retailers such as Service Merchandise Co. and Best Products Co. could be devastating, Lanier said. Christmas catalogs will already be printed by then. The retailers would have to absorb price increases caused by the tariffs or pull the items off the market. ``My catalog showrooms will go right up the wall,'' Lanier predicted.
The tariffs would play well to U.S. manufacturers of textiles, which have been hurt by competition from low-cost imports. Indeed, the American Textile Manufacturers Institute applauded the move.
Chinese-made goods are a growing presence in the American market. About 40 percent of all toys, 12 percent of all apparel, and 60 percent of all shoes sold in the United States, plus a significant percentage of electronic goods, are made in China.
LENGTH: Medium: 78 linesby CNB