Little difference

Only a handful of products were removed from duties after hearings on the first two rounds of tariffs.

Gary Hufbauer, a senior fellow and trade expert at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, said the appeals and complaints voiced over the proposed tariffs would probably make little difference to the Trump administration.

"I expect financial turmoil and a slowing of world economic growth" following escalating tariffs, Hufbauer told China Daily.

Jon Taylor, a professor of political science at the University of St Thomas in Houston, said he wanted to be optimistic about the hearings.

"But Trump does not appear to care about their concerns, because he believes that their short-term pain will result in long-term gain," Taylor said. "Simply put, the complaints to the USTR will fall on deaf ears. Sadly, this means that the tariffs are not going to stop anytime soon."