US-China trade dispute to impact California heavily: Economist

ORANGE, the United States - California will lose more than any other state in the US trade dispute with China considering the Golden State's large trade volume with the Asian country, a leading US economist said Wednesday.

"A trade war with China will impact California heavily with the loss of thousands of jobs," said Raymond Sfeir, director of the A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research at Chapman University.

"California exporters are attempting to find buyers in other countries to counteract the decrease in exports to China," said Sfeir.

Meanwhile, as California is the gateway to other states, activity at its ports goes down amid sluggish imports and exports across the country, resulting in dwindling jobs in warehousing, transportation and insurance, he said.

If their disputes drag on, California will see an estimated loss of 43,000 jobs by the end of 2019, said the expert, citing an economic and business review by the A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research in June.

The 158-year-old Chapman University, located 50 km southeast of Los Angeles downtown, is a famous private university in Southern California and its economic and business reviews have been recognized for its accuracy.

"If no agreement is reached between the two countries, both stand to lose," Sfeir said, adding that people in the United States would feel the pain.

"In January 2018, when the US first imposed tariffs on washing machines, prices of washing machines went up. And when in March 2018 it imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum, prices of steel and aluminum rose substantially higher and those in the fabricated metals industry and machinery industry were hurt badly," he said.