Mubasher: Hundreds of companies and trade associations delivered a letter to US President Donald Trump, urging him not to levy more tariffs on Chinese goods and to resolve the trade dispute with Beijing, the Financial Times (FT) reported.

The letter, which was signed by Walmart, Ikea and Target and other 661 companies, urged President Trump not to make good on his threat to slap more than $300 billion worth of Chinese imports with punitive duties of 25%.

“The additional tariffs will have a significant, negative and long-term impact on American businesses, farmers, families and the US economy,” the letter, “tariffs hurt the heartland”, was quoted by the FT.

Those levies are not an effective method to force China to change its unfair trade practices, but rather they are taxes paid by US firms, the companies said.

The letter cited figures from Trade Partnership Worldwide, building a case that the new tariffs could bring about 2 million job losses, add over $2,000 in costs for the average US four-member family and slash the gross domestic product (GDP) by 1%.

Trump is set to meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the sidelines of this month’s Group of 20 (G20) summit in Osaka, Japan.

“We urge your administration to get back to the negotiating table while working with our allies to develop global, enforceable solutions. The letter’s signatories said, warning that an escalated trade war is not in the country’s best interest, and both sides will lose.”