© Global Look Press/Chirag Wakaskar
Nearly 40 percent of US corporations operating in China are mulling leaving the country amid the ongoing trade dispute between the two countries, the latest poll carried out by two American business lobby groups in China reveals.
"The negative impact of tariffs is clear and hurting the competitiveness of American companies in China," a press release from the lobbying bodies
reads.
However, less than six percent of the surveyed firms are ready to move their manufacturing facilities back to the US with 24.7 percent of those who are thinking of relocation expected to settle in South East Asia. Mexico is reportedly the destinations for 10.5 percent of the respondents. Nearly 8.5 percent may move their production lines to India, Bangladesh, Pakistan or Sri Lanka.
The poll, conducted jointly by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai and the Beijing-based American Chamber of Commerce in China, covers
250 firms, 61.6 percent of which are manufacturing-related, 25.5 percent represent services, 3.8 percent retail and distribution, and the remaining 9.6 percent are focused on other industries.
The survey, held from May 16 to May 20, also shows that
75 percent of the respondents claimed that tit-for-tat tariffs, by the world's two strongest economies over the past years, have had a negative impact on business. The increase in import duties reportedly dragged down demand for products, boosted manufacturing costs, and resulted in higher sales prices for products.
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