Chamber president Alan Beebe said the poll would provide officials in Washington and Beijing with facts on how the tariffs are playing out.
Beebe said that could be the consequences of price increases or the psychology of how people make purchasing decisions.
“Chinese customers just see too much uncertainty around buying American and as a result they shift to alternatives,” Beebe said.
Beebe said that might be because survey respondents were mostly smaller firms, adding that larger companies “have the ability to withstand the impact of the tariffs, but it’s going to be the smaller ones that are going to feel the pinch sooner.”
The White House believes China will wave the white flag after the next round of tariffs on US$200 billion in goods, “but that scenario risks underestimating China’s capability to continue meeting fire with fire,” Amcham chairman William Zarit said.
“The US administration runs the risk of a downward spiral of attack and counterattack, benefiting no one,” Zarit said.