August 24, 2019 - Washington - Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) yesterday released the following statement after China imposed retaliatory tariffs on an additional $75 billion in U.S. products:

“As expected, China followed through with its threat to retaliate against the administration’s latest escalation in its trade war. Our farmers, workers and families can’t afford to keep paying the price for the president’s ill-conceived trade policies.

“California, our largest agriculture state, until recently sold more than $2 billion a year in agricultural products to China including wine, nuts and berries. In response to the trade war, China has cut off agricultural imports from the United States, leaving our farmers shut out of the world’s largest market. This will substantially affect California.

“It’s not just farmers who are being punished. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York estimates the current tariffs on China are forcing the average household to pay more than $800 per year in hidden taxes as the cost of the tariffs are passed along to consumers, a price tag that will only increase with this latest escalation.

“Our economy is showing signs of weakening due to the trade war, and this latest round of tariffs will make things worse. With interest rates already low and a skyrocketing deficit from the Republican’s tax cuts, we’ll have very few tools to combat a possible recession.

“We can’t afford these self-inflicted wounds any longer. President Trump could end this trade war today. Bravado is not a substitute for a workable trade policy.”
Source: Senator Dianne Feinstein