(Yicai Global) Sept 14 -- Almost 100 US associations have set up a national trade organization Americans for Free Trade to lobby against the additional tariffs imposed by the government.

On Sept. 12, over 80 associations established Americans for Free Trade which will work with Farmers for Free Trade. This multimillion-dollar lobbying campaign called Tariffs Hurt the Heartland aims to illustrate the damages caused by additional tariffs to US firms, farmers, workers and families by spreading its message through events in town halls and community events, as well as via social media and digital advertising, state news agency Xinhua reported on the same day. 

The world's two largest economies have imposed 25 percent tariffs on over USD50 billion worth of each other's goods. Trump promised last week that there's more to come. 

Americans for Free Trade's campaign will kick off in states such as Pennsylvania and Ohio next week, and in the next two months more events will be organized in the non-urban heartland. 

Americans for Free Trade has already established a website titled Hurt of Tariffs, providing readers with stories and infographics about the adverse consequences of tariff hikes including decline in employment rates, deferred investment, and increases in prices.

Each industry of the US economy stands to lose in a trade war, Matthew Shay, president of the National Retail Federation said in the statement. Americans for Free Trade has gained members from various sectors, including agriculture, forestry, fishery, energy, chemical, machinery, textile, transportation, and information technology. 

Rick Helfenbein, president of American Apparel & Footwear Association, suggested that American consumers should buy warm clothing as early as possible, for what is waiting ahead is a "long, gloomy and bitter tariff season."

US government's proposed commodity list with additional tariffs will damage consumption during the country's year-end shopping seasons accompanied with the loss of millions of jobs, said Steve Pasierb, head of the Toy Association.

The seafood supply chain only brings a low profit margin, and the import duty of 25 percent will severely damage many American seafood firms' business, said John Connally, head of the National Fisheries Institute.

American government's tariff-based trade strategies are losing the efficacy, said Dean Garfield, president of Information Technology Industry Council.

On its first day, the newly set up organization sent a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan of the US House of Representatives, as well as House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, appealing these senators to support the lobbying campaign.

Editor: Emmi Laine