WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th July, 2019) Tariffs paid by US technology companies set a monthly record of $1.3 billion in May and are expected to keep rising, hitting American consumers with higher prices and forcing companies to absorb increased costs, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) said in a press release on Wednesday.
"The US technology industry paid a 2019 record amount for Section 301 tariffs on imported Chinese products in May - $1.3 billion, more than six times higher than May of 2018 despite a 31 percent decline in imports," the release said.
The CTA focused on unintended consequences of the Trump administration's policy of using tariffs to pressure China into negotiate a new trade agreement and agree to stop stealing American technology.
"Although the Trump administration has paused on enacting further tariffs, US workers, families and businesses are still paying billions of Dollars more than they otherwise would - again proving that tariffs are nothing more than taxes," CTA President Gary Shapiro said in the release.
In addition to forcing US companies to absorb some increased costs, tariffs hurt American chip makers while incentivizing Chinese innovators to become self-reliant, the release said.
Tariffs paid by the tech industry likely will rise higher in the coming months, as the latest tariff increase to 25 percent on List 3 products did not take effect until May 11, the release added.
The list includes many 5-G related products such as routers, gateways and servers, according to CTA.
