US-China trade friction has cost up to 245,000 US jobs, says study

The United States' trade friction with China has caused a peak loss of 245,000 US jobs, but a gradual scaling back of tariffs on both sides would boost growth and lead to an additional creation of 145,000 jobs by 2025, reported Reuters on Jan 15, citing a study commissioned by the US-China Business Council.

The USCBC, which represents major American companies doing business in China, said the study by Oxford Economics also includes an "escalation scenario" which estimates a significant decoupling of the world's two largest economies could shrink US GDP by $1.6 trillion over the next five years.

This could result in 732,000 fewer US jobs in 2022 and 320,000 fewer jobs by 2025, the report said.

The study estimates that US exports to China support 1.2 million American jobs and Chinese multinational companies directly employ 197,000 Americans, while US companies invested $105 billion in China in 2019, Reuters reported.

"With China forecast to drive around one-third of global growth over the next decade, maintaining market access to China is increasingly essential for US businesses' global success," the study said.