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American firms seek tariff relief as U.S., China try to mend rift

FILE - In this April 12, 2018 file photo, packets of raw soybeans are placed on a table at a U.S. soybean company's booth at the international soybean exhibition in Shanghai, China. With the threat of tariffs and counter-tariffs between Washington and Beijing looming, Chinese buyers are canceling orders for U.S. soybeans, a trend that could deal a blow to American farmers if it continues. At the same time, farmers in China are being encouraged to plant more soy, apparently to help make up for any shortfall from the United States. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)
FILE - In this April 12, 2018 file photo, packets of raw soybeans are placed on a table at a U.S. soybean company's booth at the international soybean exhibition in Shanghai, China. With the threat of tariffs and counter-tariffs between Washington and Beijing looming, Chinese buyers are canceling orders for U.S. soybeans, a trend that could deal a blow to American farmers if it continues. At the same time, farmers in China are being encouraged to plant more soy, apparently to help make up for any shortfall from the United States. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File) FILE - In this April 12, 2018 file photo, packets of raw soybeans are placed on a table at a U.S. soybean company's booth at the international soybean exhibition in Shanghai, China. With the threat of tariffs and counter-tariffs between Washington and Beijing looming, Chinese buyers are canceling orders for U.S. soybeans, a trend that could deal a blow to American farmers if it continues. At the same time, farmers in China are being encouraged to plant more soy, apparently to help make up for any shortfall from the United States. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)

By Associated Press 4 min read

Corporate America is seeking relief from President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs on at least $50 billion in Chinese goods as negotiators seek to prevent a trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.

Best Buy wants televisions to be spared from the tariffs. Sanden International (USA) of Wylie, Texas, warns it will have to lay off 39 of its 431 workers if 25 percent tariffs take effect on the components it uses to make car air-conditioning compressors. SABIC, a petrochemical manufacturer, wants some building materials struck from the tariff list.

As the U.S. government began three days of hearings on the tariffs Tuesday, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He traveled to Washington to seek a resolution to the trade dispute. A similar high-level U.S. delegation made a trip to Beijing earlier this month and returned empty-handed.

Trump had raised hopes for the latest talks by striking a surprisingly conciliatory tone toward China, which he has long accused of predatory business practices that robbed American jobs and swelled Washington’s trade deficit with Beijing. Trump offered a lifeline to ZTE, a Chinese telecom company that is fighting for survival after being hit with sanctions this month by the U.S. Commerce Department

Trump tweeted Sunday he was working with President Xi Jinping to put ZTE “back in business, fast” and save tens of thousands of Chinese jobs – a stance that drew an immediate outcry from many Republicans and Democrats alike.