Car makers to whiskey blenders: Winners & losers of US-China trade war

China on Wednesday hit back at US President Donald Trump's plan to impose tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese imports by proposing additional tariffs of 25 per cent on 106 categories of US goods, including soybeans, autos, chemicals and some types of aircraft.

The trade tensions brewing between the world's two largest economies hit global markets, with shares of industrial companies with exposure to Chinese markets, such as Boeing Co and Deere & Co, among the hardest hit.

The following are some of the possible winners and losers among US companies and sectors:

AUTO COMPANIES:

* US automaker General Motors Co urged the two countries to engage in constructive dialogue over trade. The company's stock fell as much as 3 per cent before reversing course to close nearly 3 per cent higher.

* GM rival Ford Motor Co also lost as much as 3 per cent before rebounding to close 1.6 per cent higher while electric carmaker Tesla Inc , which depends on China for 17 per cent of its revenue, fell as much as 5.8 per cent before retracing losses to end up over 7.2 per cent. Shares of Fiat Chrysler fell as much as 3.4 per cent before recovering to end up nearly 2 per cent.

As Congress moves to drop tariffs, some US companies cry foul

Michael Korchmar was hiring. His family-owned travel-goods company was planning to make a new product, an insulated food bag, and he had put out help-wanted notices for up to 30 workers to run the sewing machines in his small factory on Florida’s Gulf Coast.
Those plans are now on hold.

The reason: a bill quietly moving through Congress that would temporarily reduce or eliminate protective tariffs on 1,662 products, including the type of bag Korchmar had planned to produce. The bill would cut costs for rivals who make their bags in low-cost countries like China, he said, squeezing him out of the market before he had even entered it.
“Given that these products will be able to come into the country duty free, it’s not likely that there’s any ability for us to compete,” Korchmar said in a recent interview at his factory, which currently employs about 20 people.

Wal-Mart, IBM oppose US exit from Paris deal, but will stay on WH panel

Several major US companies, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc, JP Morgan Chase & Co and IBM Corp, on Friday said their CEOs will remain in an influential presidential advisory group despite objecting to President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the Paris climate accord.

Citing the need to stay engaged with the administration, business leaders said they would remain in their advisory roles to continue working to influence White House policies.

Trump, a Republican, on Thursday said he would pull the United States from the landmark 2015 global agreement to fight climate change, drawing anger and condemnation from world leaders and heads of industry.

Tesla Inc Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk and Walt Disney Co CEO Robert Iger reacted by leaving White House advisory councils after Trump's move.

"Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world," Musk said in a Twitter post on Thursday. He was a member of the business advisory group, known as the President's Strategic and Policy Forum. He also belonged to Trump's manufacturing jobs council.

Asked about CEOs' criticism of the U.S. withdrawal, White House spokesman Sean Spicer on Friday said some companies that expressed support for remaining in the agreement raised concerns about the emissions reduction targets.

Spicer, speaking to reporters at a daily news conference, added he does not know if Trump will replace Musk and Iger on the business council.

A spokesman for Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the largest U.S. retailer, said on Friday that Chief Executive Doug McMillon will remain on the business council.

McMillon said in a Facebook post late on Thursday he was "disappointed in today's news about the Paris Agreement. We think it's important for countries to work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions."

IBM CEO Ginni Rometty will remain on the council, the company said on Friday as it reaffirmed its support for the Paris accord.
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