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BMW AG and Daimler AG also face higher costs because they import luxury models to China from their U.S. assembly plants. BMW says it won’t be able to absorb the higher levies completely and is calculating the necessary price increases. Daimler declined to comment beyond saying it aims to offer competitive conditions to buyers.

U.S. President Donald Trump is eyeing tariffs on another US$16 billion of Chinese goods, and he indicated last week that the final total could surpass US$500 billion.

Trump’s course of action only means more U.S. companies will lose out in China as the country opens up, the People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s flagship newspaper, said in a commentary on Monday. The zero-sum mentality of U.S. policymakers will not only hit economic and trade cooperation between China and the U.S., but also brings further uncertainty to the world economy, it said.

With neither side backing down, the prospect of a tax on almost every China-made product entering the U.S. and reprisals by China means many more businesses could come in the cross hairs.

“Businesses hate uncertainty,” said Jacob Parker, vice president of China operations at the U.S.-China Business Council. “If you are uncertain, you don’t invest; if you are uncertain, you don’t hire. Companies don’t know how big this may get, or how it will end.”

If you are uncertain, you don't invest; if you are uncertain, you don't hire. Companies don't know how big this may get, or how it will end Jacob Parker

Hemp Fortex Industries Ltd. isn’t going to wait. The Chinese maker of clothing and natural fabrics — and a supplier to U.S. and European brands — says it is seeking to move manufacturing outside China. More than half of the company’s revenue comes from American customers, potentially exposing them to any future U.S. tariffs on China-made goods.