Meanwhile, Washington has initiated a Section 232 investigation into the "national security threat posed by unfair steel imports," which takes dead aim at China, the world's largest steel producer, Roach said.
"If those additional actions occur, I fully expect China to retaliate with trade sanctions of its own on U.S. exporters -- a tough blow to America's third-largest and most rapidly growing export market," Roach said.
"China is concerned about the U.S. side's serious trade protectionist tendency in the field of steel products," said Wang Hejun, head of the trade remedy and investigation bureau under China's Ministry of Commerce, in a statement on Tuesday.
WILL U.S. BENEFIT FROM A TRADE WAR?
The increasing protectionism on the U.S. part has led to frequent trade frictions and even triggered worries about a possible trade war between the top two economies.
"Trade wars would not be beneficial for the U.S., from an economic point of view," Peterson warned.
Trade wars would likely diminish global trade, which is bad for global growth, and certainly for the nations involved.
From the U.S. perspective, trade wars would reduce U.S. exports, weighing on its gross domestic product (GDP) growth. Additionally, trade wars would likely raise U.S. import prices and consumer inflation.
"If inflation hastens too quickly or excessively, reduced consumer demand would cap consumption growth, and subsequently business capex (capital expenditures)," she said.
Many others agree. Donald Straszheim, senior managing director and head of Evercore ISI's China Research Team, said both governments should be aware that a trade war is a lose-lose option.
"No one benefits, or wins (from a trade war)," Roach told Xinhua, pointing out that tariffs on solar panels and washing machines could also raise retail prices for U.S. consumers.
The Korean company LG Electronics, a major foreign supplier of U.S. washing machines, has already announced a price increase of 50 U.S. dollars per washer in response to the new tariffs.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Solar Energy Industries Association has estimated that tariffs on solar panels will not only result in a loss of 23,000 American jobs this year alone, but will also lead to the cancellation of billions of dollars of solar panel installations -- a major setback to America's non-carbon clean energy imperatives.
Analysts also warned about retaliatory measures from China.
