Monitoring Desk
\nLos Angeles
\nChurning out everything from cars and computer chips to nuts and wine, California\u2019s mighty economy will suffer big time if the US-China trade war worsens. Billions of dollars and many jobs are at risk in the richest and most populous US state – a world-class economy and bastion of opposition to President Donald Trump.
\n\u201cIf there\u2019s one region in the United States that will be most impacted by the trade war, it\u2019s going to be LA,\u201d said Stephen Cheung, former director of international trade at the Port of Los Angeles and now chairman of an NGO called World Trade Center Los Angeles.
\nLast year in Los Angeles-area ports, two-way trade with China totaled more than $170 billion, Cheung said.
\n\u201cChina is our number one trading partner,\u201d he told AFP.
\nThe world\u2019s two largest economies have squared off in a tit-for-tat trade war that threatens to disrupt international commerce.
\n\u201cOur fear is that the cycle will keep growing to the point where it\u2019s going to depress the economy,\u201d said Cheung.
\nCalifornia boasts the world\u2019s fifth largest economy, with annual output of $2.7 billion, more than that of Britain. The state of 40 million people is home to the powerful tech companies of Silicon Valley and the Hollywood movie and TV industry.
\nThe state exports electric cars, engines, auto parts and aluminum, besides being the nation\u2019s bread basket.
\nPistachios, almonds, oranges, walnuts, plums, lemons and strawberries are among the farm products targeted in Chinese tariffs imposed in retaliation for US levies ordered by Trump.
\n\u201cAlthough we don\u2019t know the exact ramifications these tariffs will have on our crops, we do understand the loss of the Chinese market will result in other foreign suppliers moving into the marketplace, causing long-term lost sales opportunities for our farmers,\u201d said Sara Neagu-Reed of the California Farm Bureau Federation.
\nChina was the third largest market in 2016 for California farm goods, after Canada and the European Union, with imports to the tune of $2 billion.
\n\u201cWe as growers are very concerned,\u201d said Holly King, head of the Almond Board of California. The sector exported $518 million worth of almonds in 2016. Now, the nut has been hit with a 50 percent tariff in China.
\nFor pistachios – $530 million in exports that year – the levy is 45 percent.
\nCasey Creamer, executive vice president of the California Citrus Mutual, which represents 2,500 growers, said the organization\u2019s focus for now is on supporting the US government in the face of Chinese trade practices which \u201chave been very bad for our industry.\u201d
\nTrump, who says he wants to reduce the US trade deficit with China, has accused other countries of taking advantage of the US when it comes to bilateral trade.
\nMany producers agree that China has engaged in unfair practices but \u201cinstead of using trade tariffs as a tactic\u201d the better approach is to negotiate toward an accord that benefits both sides, said Cheung.
\nWine was slapped with a 35 percent tariff in China, which hurts Michael Honig, who owns a winery in Napa Valley north of San Francisco. \u201cWe started exporting to China over 10 years ago and built up a good market,\u201d he told AFP. \u201cAnd what we\u2019ve seen now is everything just stopped.\u201d
\nHis Asian buyer has put orders on hold to see what happens before resuming purchases.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s kind of frustrating,\u201d Honig said.
\nMario Cordero, executive director of the Port of Long Beach, which along with that of Los Angeles moved 7.5 million containers last year, said that for now he is not aware of any stranded shipments but he will have a better idea of the fallout from the tariffs in six months.
\nThe NGO California Budget & Policy Center has warned that there are more than 285,000 jobs in California at stake in industries affected by the trade war.
\nCheung said prices at the consumer level should start going up in a matter of weeks, making importers more wary of buying products.
\nWhat\u2019s more, the war could scare away Chinese investment in California.
\n\u201cThe economy has already been impacted\u201d and even if the war subsides \u201cit\u2019s going to take a while to get back to operating normally,\u201d Cheung said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Monitoring Desk Los Angeles Churning out everything from cars and computer chips to nuts and wine, California\u2019s mighty economy will suffer big time if the US-China trade war worsens. Billions of dollars and many jobs are at risk in the richest and most populous US state – a world-class economy and bastion of opposition to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-28265","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n