U.S. slammed for repeated policy shifts

Washington's unpredictability damaging its credibility, harming global businesses

The United States' repeated and unpredictable policy shifts have not only enhanced the risk of deepening its economic and trade frictions with China, but have also weakened its credibility in the international market, analysts and exporters said on Monday.

These policy shifts are undermining the confidence of global businesses and investors in U.S. policies, market conditions and assets, they added.

Their remarks came after the Ministry of Commerce urged the U.S. to promptly rectify its wrongful actions. In a statement issued on Monday, the ministry said the U.S. has seriously undermined the consensus reached during the China-U.S. economic and trade talks on May 12 in Geneva, Switzerland, by repeatedly imposing discriminatory and restrictive measures on China.

The measures include issuing export control guidance for artificial intelligence chips, halting sales of chip design software to China, and announcing the revocation of visas for Chinese students.

The ministry warned that if the U.S. continues to undermine China's interests, China will adopt effective measures to defend its legitimate rights and interests.

Describing the outcomes of the Geneva talks as "hard-won", the ministry said the U.S. has unilaterally and repeatedly triggered frictions, exacerbating uncertainty and instability in bilateral economic and trade relations.

Based on the consensus reached during the talks, China has temporarily canceled or suspended relevant tariff and nontariff countermeasures against the U.S.' "reciprocal tariffs", the ministry said.

Wan Zhe, a professor of international trade at Beijing Normal University, said the U.S. tariffs are essentially a radical attempt to politicize and instrumentalize trade issues.

"The erratic and unpredictable nature of these tariff and economic measures has damaged the U.S.' credibility in the global economy and dented global investors' confidence in the U.S. market," Wan said, adding that the consequences will come at a steep cost for both its economy and international standing.

Zak Stambor, an analyst at eMarketer Inc, a market research company based in New York City, said the U.S.' "ever-shifting trade policies" mean "navigating an increasingly unpredictable landscape", making life and any attempts at financial planning harder for both manufacturers and consumers.

"The policies in place today may well shift tomorrow, making medium-term planning challenging and long-term planning nearly impossible," he said. "No wonder so many U.S. companies are pulling their guidance altogether."

The frustration is not limited to U.S. companies.

On Saturday, the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, said, "We strongly regret the announced increase of U.S. tariffs on steel imports from 25 percent to 50 percent."

The U.S.' announcement "adds further uncertainty to the global economy and increases costs for consumers and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic", the commission said, adding that the plan also undermines efforts to bring an end to the wider tariff standoff.

Gao Lingyun, a researcher specializing in international trade at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, said the U.S.' broader goals of reshoring manufacturing and maintaining economic hegemony cannot be addressed simply by imposing tariffs and other trade remedy measures on its trading partners.

In addition to the tariffs, the U.S. has also been resorting to technological blockades and investment restrictions in its bid to contain China. Such multifaceted frictions are likely to be long-term, Gao said.

Diversifying markets

Ningbo Lemeijia Electric Equipment Technology, a home appliance manufacturer based in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, and long-term supplier to the U.S. market, said the company has actively communicated with its U.S. partners and explored opportunities to bag more orders after the Geneva talks.

Even though the company's exports to the U.S. surged 16.9 percent year-on-year to 220 million yuan ($31 million) last year, Luo Lujin, president of Ningbo Lemeijia, said the company has deployed more resources and manpower this year to cultivate emerging markets, especially those in Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, in order to mitigate the risks brought by unilateralism and geopolitical tensions.

"Global trade flows are being seriously hampered by supply chain breakdowns, high tariff rates and other challenges. This makes diversification not just an option, but an essential strategy for survival," Luo said.