Preston Stanley - Retailers Concerned About Trade War Impact

TAIPEI CITY, Taiwan, November 26, 2018 (Newswire.com) - As US President Donald Trump continues to impose tariffs on Chinese imports and is threatening to increase them by next year, analysts at Taipei, Taiwan based investment house, Preston Stanley say retailers are becoming increasingly concerned about the impact these tariffs will have on their earnings.

The US recently announced that it would go ahead with tariffs on another $200 billion worth of Chinese imports. The tariffs will start at 10% but will increase to 25% by the start of next year. US department stores are worried that the latest round of tariffs will have far-reaching consequences for their bottom lines as the list of products that will be subject to tariffs will include consumer goods including furniture and apparel.

Preston Stanley analysts say that while a 10% tariff may not be catastrophic for retailers, 25% will be a cost too heavy to bear and this cost will ultimately be passed on to the consumer.

In some cases, the tariffs would eliminate any profit margins and companies would not be able to sustain their businesses for very long before being forced to close down.

In August this year, hundreds of business and industry representatives spoke to trade officials in Washington about how trade tariffs could impact them. But Trump is undeterred by these concerns, and if China and the US are unable to reach a satisfactory resolution to the devastating trade dispute at this year’s G20 summit, he has promised to impose additional tariffs and increase those already in place.

Source: Preston Stanley