Apple has warned that Donald Trump’s threatened China trade war escalation could “tilt the playing field in favour of its global competitors”.

The tech firm used an online submission to hearings conducted by US trade officials to argue that plans to extend tariffs to another $300bn (£236bn) of Chinese goods would be counterproductive and risked damaging its contributions to the US Treasury.

It pointed out that Apple was currently the largest corporate taxpayer – with an expected $350bn (£276bn) over five years in jeopardy.

The president has said the additional tariffs will be imposed if a meeting he is due to hold next week with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping does not yield progress.

President Trump’s trade war, mainly aimed at slashing a big trade deficit with the world’s second-largest economy, has been blamed for dragging on economic growth – not just in the US and China but globally.

This week, the US Federal Reserve signalled interest rate cuts could be on the way to help maintain activity while the People’s Bank of China has been injecting funds into money markets to provide domestic support.

The UK has not been immune to the fallout in growth terms while a growing number of UK companies have warned on the impact.

IQE, which makes parts used in smartphone chips, saw its shares fall 32% at the open after it said US restrictions on Huawei would knock its revenues.

Apple would be hurt by tariffs on extra Chinese goods as key products, including iPhones and MacBooks, are manufactured there.

There is speculation it has been exploring a shift away from China to reduce its exposure to the threatened duties.

Apple told the US Trade Representative it would be doubly hurt as Chinese competitors do not have a significant market presence in the US.

Other companies to voice their opposition include Dell Technologies Inc, HP and Walmart.

A theme in corporate America’s argument has been that many US firms rely on China to source a vast array of products and finding alternative suppliers will raise costs substantially – costs that risk being passed on to consumers.

The country’s seventh-largest importer, retailer Dollar Tree, wrote: “Simply put, the imposition of an additional 25% duty on the types of everyday, household products that we offer will have a significant and disproportionate negative impact on middle- and low-income American households.”

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