US firms that leave China on Donald Trump’s ‘order’ will only hurt themselves, experts say
- World’s most populous nation offers economic opportunities that cannot be matched anywhere else, analysts say
- Missing out on future growth ‘would weaken the competitiveness of US industry’ and harm its domestic interests, business leader says
US President Donald Trump’s “order” for American firms to leave China amid rising trade war tensions will do little to help to resolve the long-running dispute and nothing for the companies’ balance sheets, analysts and business leaders say.
Jake Parker, senior vice-president of the US-China Business Council, said companies that did choose to exit the world’s second-largest economy would be depriving themselves and the US of a huge commercial opportunity.
“China will contribute a significant proportion of global growth in the decades ahead. Missing out on that would weaken the competitiveness of US industry and harm the United States’ interests at home,” he said.
“The jobs in the United States that support that growth would also be negatively affected.”
Trump seemed unaware of such potential problems when he tweeted recently of how “Our County has lost, stupidly, Trillions of Dollars with China over many years”.
