Export employment to dive if trade war persists: US business group

All American exports to China worth $140.7 billion last year now face a retaliatory Chinese tariff of at least 125%, putting at risk hundreds of thousands of American jobs that support the exports, the US-China Business Council said on Tuesday.

China imposed a 125% tariff rate on U.S. exports on April 11 to retaliate against a 145% tariff that the U.S. government levied on Chinese goods, in an unprecedented escalating trade war between the world's two largest economies that threaten to dent global growth.

In a report released on Tuesday, the US-China Business Council said U.S. exports to China support 862,467 jobs and warned that a continuation of punitive tariff rates on both sides will lead to a "precipitous" fall in jobs and trade revenues.


"No one is spared this time," said Sean Stein, president of the US-China Business Council who said all Americans from consumers to farmers and ranchers are hurt by the tariffs. "We urge leaders from both countries to come to the negotiating table," he said.

The Business Council said businesses and communities in the South and Midwestern United States are most exposed to Chinese tariffs on U.S. goods, in part because oilseeds and grains -- which are produced in the Midwest -- form the largest U.S. exports to China.

Oil and gas exports are the next largest U.S. exports to China, at $12.3 billion, followed by pharmaceuticals and medicines at $10.9 billion and semiconductors and components at $10.5 billion, the Business Council said.

Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Illinois and California are most vulnerable to the retaliatory Chinese tariffs due to the value of their exports that now face tariff rates beyond 125%, the Business Council said.

On the services side, the U.S. education industry is the top service exporter to China, selling $14.4 billion worth of services in 2023, the US-China Business Council said. The top U.S. service exporters to China by state were California, New York, Texas, Illinois and Massachusetts in 2023, the council said.