BEIJING: US companies in China forecast a gloomy year ahead, with many worrying about a deterioration in bilateral trade ties and nearly a quarter delaying investments, a business survey showed Tuesday.

The survey of 314 US businesses by the American Chamber of Commerce in China provided a full accounting of challenges American business face after Beijing and Washington exchanged tit-for-tat tariffs on more than $300 billion in two-way trade.

The report was released two days after US President Donald Trump said he would delay a planned further hike in tariffs on Chinese goods this week after he and Beijing both hailed “substantial progress” in trade negotiations.

“Certainly our members are hopeful that the uncertainty and the loss and the delays in business that have resulted from the trade negotiations and trade frictions will turn out to have been worthwhile in the end,” said Tim Stratford, chairman of the chamber.

“If not then it would be a tremendous waste,” he told reporters.

The survey found that 89 per cent of businesses reported a pessimistic view on the world’s most important bilateral trade relationship.

The tariffs directly hit US businesses, increasing costs and lowering demand from Chinese consumers with some companies even forced to lay off workers, the survey showed.

The US-China trade spat was among the top concerns for businesses across sectors. Three-fourths expect the relationship to further deteriorate or remain the same this year.

Published in Dawn, February 27th, 2019