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Changing status The trade conflict has also


complicated matters for American companies with significant business interests in China. A Japanese-owned subsidiary of


Toshiba Mitsubishi Electric Industrial Systems Corp., Roanoke-based TMEIC Corp. is an engineering and manufactur- ing company that produces industrial drive systems motors, automation con- trol systems and photovoltaic converter systems for solar-power applications. Its major automation control systems cus- tomers include the Port of Virginia and Yangshan Deep Water Port in Shanghai. Last year, TMEIC applied for a


waiver when the Trump administration instituted 10% tariffs on critical compo- nents it imported from its parent com- pany’s factories in China. That waiver was rejected because the parent company had an additional source for the compo- nents at its factories in Japan and India, so TMEIC shifted the purchase of those items to India. Nonetheless, Michael Cooper, TME-


IC’s marketing director, says that the company has been told that a 25% tariff likely will be applied to a variety of other necessary manufacturing components and devices that the company purchases from third-party vendors in China. “Our margins are tight to begin


with. We’re in a very competitive envi- ronment,” says Cooper. The tariffs “will have a direct negative impact on our manufacturing costs and result in either passing on cost increases to our custom- ers and/or reduced margins on our finished products.” An additional problem and “unin-


tended consequence” of the conflict, says Cooper, who speaks Mandarin and has been doing business in China for decades, is that being an American company is now a negative in China, unlike in the past, when that status had cachet there.


Right issue, wrong tactics? Despite the past regard that


Chinese businesses held for American enterprise, China has long engaged in unfair trading practices, from turning a blind eye to rampant intellectual prop- erty theft to flooding the global market with cheap, state-subsidized steel and


Photo by Mark Rhodes


Of no small import


Until 2019, China was the Port of Virginia’s top trading partner, accounting for more than $14 billion in cargo in 2018 alone. Since the trade conflict with China began, many of the commonwealth’s leading imported and exported commodities have become subject to expanded tariffs over the last year.


2018 top 10 trading partners (Port of Virginia) Exports1


1 China 2 Belgium 3 Netherlands


4 United Kingdom 5 Germany 6 Japan 7 India 8 Spain 9 Brazil


10 Austria


$2,220.00 China 1,724.66 Germany 1,379.02 India 1,352.87 Italy 1,318.61 Japan 1,168.15 France 1,051.77 Vietnam 981.08 Brazil


976.10 Malaysia 854.62 United Kingdom


2018 top 10 commodities (Port of Virginia) Exports1


1 Nuclear reactors, 2 Pharmaceutical


products 4 Oil seeds boilers, machinery Imports1


$11,704.02 7,258.94 3,389.15 2,812.30 1,932.86 1,611.54 1,471.29 1,462.27 1,395.29 1,383.15


Imports1 $2,793.07 Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery 2,227.98 Electrical machinery


3 Plastics 1,899.02 Pharmaceutical 1,164.84 Vehicles, other than


products railway 5 Organic chemicals


6 Wood 985.92 Plastics 7 Vehicles, other than


railway 8 Miscellaneous chemical products 9 Electrical machinery $10,859.15 3,759.53 3,338.43 2,980.87


1,004.99 Furniture and bedding 2,866.54 2,357.44


977.29 Organic chemicals 947.81 Toys, games and 811.61 Iron or steel 10 Tobacco 799.75 Beverages, spirits and vinegar


1 In millions of U.S. dollars Sources: U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Virginia Maritime Association, The Port of Virginia


sports equipment 1,581.04 1,521.53 1,272.65 1,193.54


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