(Yicai Global) March 20 -- Twenty-five well-known U.S. retailers, including Best Buy, Gap Inc., and Ikea North America Services LLC, asked President Trump not to impose tariffs on China, saying such a move would hurt the U.S. consumers, Xinhua News Agency reported. It comes only one day after 45 U.S. trade associations made a similar plea.

The U.S. retailers including the National Retail Federation, Retail Industry Leaders Association, RILA, and American Apparel & Footwear Association yesterday sent a letter to President Trump, expressing their concern that any benefits from the latest U.S. tax reform for retailers and families will be wiped out by broadly applied tariffs on every day consumer products imported from China.

Imposing tariffs on Chinese products will lead to price hikes in clothing, shoes, electronics and home goods and will penalize the U.S. consumers, particularly the working class, they warned.

"The undersigned represent the world's largest and most innovative retail companies, accounting for more than USD1.5 trillion in annual sales and tens of millions of American jobs," the U.S. retail giants stressed in their letter to Trump, saying, "After all, our companies and the workers we employ thrive in a rules-based globalized economy where markets are open, trade rules and obligations are met, and governance is fair and transparent."

"This is not American industries crying wolf. Higher tariffs will mean higher costs to businesses and in turn higher prices for American families," said Sandy Kennedy, president of RILA, adding tariffs could set the industry back.

Earlier, 45 trade groups representing some of the leading companies in the world's largest economy, such as Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc., warned U.S. President Trump that imposing tariffs on Chinese imports would trigger a chain reaction of negative consequences for the U.S. economy, raise costs for the U.S. firms and consumers, and hurt exports of agricultural products and services,

Despite strong opposition from the US business community, the Trump administration is expected to announce new tariffs on information technology, telecoms and consumer products imported from China before the end of this week, some media reports suggested.

If the Trump administration imposes a 25 percent tariff on such imports from China, it would cost the U.S. economy USD332 billion over the next decade, said a research report released by the US-based Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.

"The two sides have properly resolved their trade differences in a constructive manner over the past 40 years. We believe the two countries can still settle their disputes through friendly negotiations, and we are ready to do so," said Lu Kang, spokesman for China's foreign ministry, last week.