The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) said the Trump Administration's proposed 25% tariff on TVs from China, such as the TCL and Hisense brands, would cost consumers $711 million in the next year alone.
That is according to a just-released study commissioned by CTA and the National Retail Federation.
TVs are just one of more than a thousand products facing tariffs, the groups said, all potentially hitting consumers' pocketbooks.
"These proposed [TV] tariffs are bad for the economy, businesses and American consumers," said CTA CEO Gary Shapiro, who suggested that the threat of such tariffs had already had the desired effect of getting China to open the door wider for U.S. products.
"Now that China has expressed some willingness to open its market and strengthen protection of intellectual property, the Trump administration should immediately initiate negotiations," said Shapiro.
CTA said it agrees China's unfair trade practices need to be addressed, but not by punitive tariffs where those punished are consumers.
"A TV made in China that costs $250 today would cost $308 after the tariffs are applied," the CTA said, citing the study, "and one that costs $500 today would cost $615 after the tariffs are applied."
