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- Scholz visits site of deadly Christmas market attack
- Heavyweight foes Usyk, Fury set for titanic rematch
- Drone attack hits Russian city 1,000km from Ukraine frontier
- Former England winger Eastham dies aged 88
- Pakistan Taliban claim raid killing 16 soldiers
- Pakistan military courts convict 25 of pro-Khan unrest
- US Congress passes bill to avert shutdown
- Sierra Leone student tackles toxic air pollution
- German leader to visit site of deadly Christmas market attack
- 16 injured after Israel hit by Yemen-launched 'projectile'
- Google counters bid by US to force sale of Chrome
- Russia says Kursk strike kills 5 after Moscow claims deadly Kyiv attack
- Cavaliers cruise past Bucks, Embiid shines in Sixers win
- US President Biden authorizes $571 million in military aid to Taiwan
- Arahmaiani: the Indonesian artist with a thousand lives
- Indonesians embrace return of plundered treasure from the Dutch
- Qualcomm scores key win in licensing dispute with Arm
- Scientists observe 'negative time' in quantum experiments
- US approves first drug treatment for sleep apnea
- US drops bounty for Syria's new leader after Damascus meeting
- Saudi man arrested after deadly car attack on German Christmas market
- 'Torn from my side': horror of German Christmas market attack
- Bayern Munich rout Leipzig on sombre night in Germany
- Tiger in family golf event but has 'long way' before PGA return
- Pogba wants to 'turn page' after brother sentenced in extortion case
- Court rules against El Salvador in controversial abortion case
- French court hands down heavy sentences in teacher beheading trial
- Israel army says troops shot Syrian protester in leg
- Tien sets-up all-American NextGen semi-final duel
- Bulked-up Fury promises 'war' in Usyk rematch
- Major reshuffle as Trudeau faces party pressure, Trump taunts
- Reggaeton star Daddy Yankee in court, says wife embezzled $100 mn
- Injured Eze out of Palace's clash with Arsenal
- Norway's Deila named coach of MLS Atlanta United
- Inter-American Court rules Colombia drilling violated native rights
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- Man Utd 'more in control' under Amorim says Iraola
- Emery insists Guardiola 'still the best' despite Man City slump
- US confirms billions in chips funds to Samsung, Texas Instruments
- English Rugby Football Union chairman quits amid pay row
- Major reshuffle as Trudeau faces party pressure, Trump attacks
- Gatland remains as Wales boss but must 'change fortunes on the pitch'
- Argentina's dollar craze cools under greenback-loving Milei
- Medici secret passageway in Florence reopens after refit
- Anger after Musk backs German far right
- Arteta says 'best is yet to come' as he marks five years at Arsenal
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US firms brace for more tariffs as election approaches
From holding back investments to considering moving abroad, businesses in the United States are bracing for more economic turbulence as the presidential campaign kicks into high gear -- with fresh tariffs rolled out and promises of more.
Republican candidate Donald Trump has proposed at least a 10 percent tariff on imports and up to 60 percent on Chinese goods, intensifying levies he previously imposed on Beijing and others.
Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, meanwhile, serves an administration that largely maintained Trump's tariffs and last month finalized further hikes on $18 billion of Chinese products.
For Robert Actis, whose manufacturing business has been caught in the tariff maelstrom, the future has looked "clouded" over the past five years.
Under Trump, he faced tariffs on steel and aluminum and has struggled to find alternative suppliers for raw materials not produced in the country.
Fresh measures on the materials by the Biden-Harris administration have added to his woes.
"I would be very happy to buy from a US producer," said Actis, who imports wires to make stucco netting used in construction, "but there's no one willing to do it."
He has previously been granted tariff exemptions, but the annual applications are not always successful.
Additional costs are gradually being passed to homebuilders, he said.
- Millions in costs -
US tariffs weigh on many industries. The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) estimates retail prices have risen five percent to 10 percent annually since 2020.
"Initially, our members tried to eat some of those costs by eating into their profits," said Nate Herman, AAFA's senior vice president for policy.
But this has been tough.
It is unclear that tariffs on China have returned production to the United States, as Trump argues, and at least 14 US textile mills have closed in recent years, Herman told AFP.
Products like certain acrylic sweaters are not produced domestically either, requiring new machinery and trained workers, he said.
"The average age in domestic factories has gone into the 50s because we just can't find workers willing to work in those factories," Herman added.
"For a small company like us, it's millions of dollars" in added costs, said Ray Sharrah, CEO of lighting products maker Streamlight.
"We pay for it, our exporter helps, and ultimately the consumer (pays)," he said. "This is the problem with any tariff."
- 'Dampening effect' -
Uncertainty looms as November's election approaches, but businesses prefer predicability.
A September survey involving the Richmond and Atlanta Federal Reserve banks found that 30 percent of firms reported postponing, scaling down, delaying or canceling investment plans due to election uncertainty.
"It stops you from action. It stops you from investment, and it just generally creates a dampening effect on all economic development," Sharrah said.
With business partners, he has been trying to bring production of a major component back into the country -- but to no avail.
"When we spend time reshuffling the supply chain deck, that's time we don't spend growing our business," he said.
AAFA's Herman added that companies have been trying to find alternative sources but "with mixed results."
He believes businesses will ramp up imports ahead of expected tariff hikes, as happened in 2018 when Trump engaged in a trade war with Beijing.
"But again, if there's a global tariff imposed, then where do you go?" Herman said.
- Rhetoric or reality? -
Businesses expect tariffs to stay no matter who wins the election.
"If anything, it's probably going to go up," Actis said, adding that he has considered moving his business abroad.
But he believes it is hard to predict what a candidate like Trump might do, saying, "A lot of it is bombast."
Will Thomas of Colonial Metal Products said there is little businesses can do besides importing from diverse sources.
"It seems that the presidential candidates want to say things that invoke emotion," he said.
"However, if all these products aren't there, and you keep increasing the cost of the products, what happens? The costs go up, it's inflation."
At auto accessories importer Trim Illusion, President Colby McLaughlin is considering scaling up his business to boost margins.
As a voter, he is torn between perspectives as a business owner and a citizen.
"I'm not against a tariff, as long as there is a plan or support to help these companies bring the manufacturing back," he said.
"For me, that's the piece that I haven't heard."
H.Silva--PC