President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs on imports of Chinese goods could cost the American consumers up to $3.2 billion, according to an association on Friday.
Consumer Technology Association (CTA) said in a statement that the price of connected electronic devices from China will increase by between 8.5 and 22 percent due to tariffs.
American consumers will have to pay between $1.6 billion and $3.2 billion more for connected devices, such as gateways, modems, routers, smart speakers, smartwatches and other Bluetooth enabled products.
'The danger we face -- the unintended consequence -- is that tariffs mean Americans will pay more for all the devices they use every day to access the internet,' Gary Shapiro, CEO president of CTA, said in the statement.
'Foreign governments don’t pay the cost of tariffs, Americans do -- and for that reason, U.S. trade policy needs to steer clear of tariffs that act like taxes on American manufacturers and consumers,' he added.
The U.S.' 25 percent tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods have begun to be implemented in July, while an additional $16 billion will go into effect next Thursday.
Trump said last month that he is ready to increase tariffs on Chinese goods to $500 billion, almost the total value of goods the U.S. imported from China in 2017.
'The Trump administration's consideration of tariffs on Chinese printed circuit assemblies and connected devices would cost the economy $520.8 million and $2.4 billion annually for the 10 percent and 25 percent tariffs, respectively,' CTA said.
The White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow said Thursday trade talks between the U.S. and China will resume later this month.
The world's two biggest economies' representatives last held talks about trade relations and tariffs in May.
By Ovunc Kutlu in New York
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr