CHICAGO, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Many companies in U.S. Chicago area have expressed that the ongoing trade disputes are impacting their decisions on short-term purchasing, according to a survey released on Friday.
MNI Indicators, who publishes the Chicago Business Barometer, or Chicago Purchasing Manager Index (Chicago PMI), said they asked two additional questions to companies when they conducted the survey for Chicago PMI in June.
One of them was whether the ongoing talks between the United States and its trade partners were having an impact on short-term purchasing decisions. The results showed that more than 60 percent firms gave positive answers.
According to MNI Indicators, just under a quarter of the firms said that they were having a significant impact on business while an additional 39.2 percent said yes but only to a minimal extent up until now.
Another 17.7 percent said they had been immune to any disruptions, with the remaining 19.6 percent unsure.
Washington has increasingly resorted to protectionist measures against its key trade partners, including the European Union, China, Mexico and Canada, which not only led to retaliatory tariffs against U.S. exports, but also increased the cost of U.S. production relying on foreign parts and raw materials.
"Confusion surrounding the trade landscape continues to breed uncertainty among businesses and their suppliers and has led to many firms' altering their immediate purchasing decisions," said Jamie Satchi, an economist at MNI Indicators.
