Press Release | May 13, 2019

Trump Administration Putting New 25% Tax on American Consumers and Businesses, Says CTA

by 
Elliot Grimm
The following statement is attributed to Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, Consumer Technology Association (CTA), regarding the U.S. Trade Representative’s proposed tariffs on an additional $300 billion worth of Chinese imports:
 
“The Trump Administration has now formally proposed an excise tax or tariff on consumers’ favorite technology products – including smartphones, laptops, TVs, wireless headphones and smart speakers. In all, tech products account for more than half of the $300 billion in products on the new tariff list.
 
“This immense round of tariffs is exponentially worse for our country. China is one of the top export markets for American technology – and its retaliatory tariffs will choke U.S. job creation and global sales for American manufacturers and innovators.
 
“President Trump is right to oppose China’s bad trade practices. But National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow has acknowledged what we’ve said all along – tariffs are taxes paid by Americans, not China. Raising tariffs in this questionably legal fashion hurts American families, workers and businesses.”