Siemens USA CEO Barbara Humpton says tariffs are not helping anyone.
President Trump has argued that tariffs will benefit the U.S. economy — which he says will be fine with or without a deal.
“One thing’s for certain. The kind of business we do really requires long-term stability and uncertainty isn't helping any of us,” said Humpton.
In an interview with Yahoo Finance, Humpton urged the United States and China to come to an agreement to ensure fair, open trade with enforceable rules.
“Siemens does actually participate in the global supply chain, and as I say, we in the U.S. are net exporters to the rest of the world,” Humpton said. “We're sending trains to Canada, power turbines to Mexico. It's important for us to be able to get the materials we need from everywhere around the world in order to continue to expand our business.”
After Trump hiked tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods on Friday, China promised to retaliate by increasing tariffs on $60 billion worth of American goods in June. The Trump administration also plans to put 25% tariffs on the remaining Chinese imports, worth about $300 billion.
The Trump administration is engaged in trade talks with countries over the globe -- including China, the European Union and Japan. The U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA), the revised NAFTA, has yet to be approved by Congress.
“We're keeping dialogue open with every single party, with our customers, with governments around the world, and you recognize that it's important that this dialogue is going on. I think it's a time when business needs to lead now more than ever,” said Humpton.
There is no reason for the U.S. Consumer to pay the Tariffs, which take effect on China today. This has been proven recently when only 4 points were paid by the U.S., 21 points by China because China subsidizes product to such a large degree. Also, the Tariffs can be.....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 13, 2019
On Monday, Trump tweeted: “There is no reason for the U.S. Consumer to pay the Tariffs.” The president has repeatedly insisted that China will bear the brunt of his tariffs.
“Well, right now what we are seeing is higher prices on certain goods, and that's a fact,” said Humpton. “Any time there's this change of balance in trade, there are impacts on both sides.”
Jessica Smith is a reporter for Yahoo Finance based in Washington, D.C. Follow her on Twitter at @JessicaASmith8.
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