Ever since former President Trump announced his decision to run for a second term, he has been a big believer in tariffs and has indicated that he would “reinstitute duties on foreign goods” if he were to win back the white house.
In an interview with CNBC, Trump mentions the economic and political benefits of the tariffs that he plans to reinstate. The former president claims that tariffs would not only benefit the economy but would also help give the U.S. the power and leverage to make deals with other foreign nations. This is something that Trump heavily wants, as he believes that the U.S. has long been the victim of being “taken advantage of by other countries.”
Trump claims that he will institute tariffs on most foreign goods and that penalties would increase if the foreign nations that the U.S. is trading with manipulate currencies or engage in corrupt or unfair trading practices. On top of that, If reelected, he will urge Congress to pass a “Trump Reciprocal Trade Act”, which would give the president the power to impose a reciprocal tariff on any country that imposes the U.S.
Proposed acts like the Trump Reciprocal Trade Act are mainly targeted at the U.S.’s “biggest rival” as claimed by Trump, China. According to Trump, “China was taking advantage of us on steel. They were destroying our entire steel industry, which was never doing very well over the last 25 years anyway ... because it’s been eaten alive by foreign competition.” Trump plans on putting a 50% tax on all of the steel coming in from China, and on top of that, With China producing about 30 million vehicles in 2023 which resulted in about a 50% year-over-year increase, Trump has claimed that he would impose tariffs in order to get China to manufacturer more of its cars in the U.S. With all this economic tension, Chinese US trade relations could further detrioriate with the election on the horizon.
With the election season coming, the polls are predicting a tight contest in November between Trump and incumbent President Joe Biden. With Trump dominating the republican primaries, his future goals regarding tariffs could play a huge role in whether or not he gets elected, as the economy will be a huge topic for millions of Americans looking to vote.
Class connections: Trump’s intended tariff policies clearly show concerns about demand. For the last 20-30 years, foreign competition from rival nations such as China has resulted in the decline of US manufacturing as well as goods, such as steel and car manufacturing. In Trump's ideas, Tariffs would limit foreign competition and would give a greater market share to the US, which would increase demand over foreign competitors. An increase in demand would mean the demand graph would shift to the right.
sources:
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/11/trump-pledges-to-get-tough-with-tariffs-again-if-elected.html
5 comments:
It’s sometimes funny to think that Trump is from the same party as Reagan was, only separated by a few decades, and yet now the Republican party is all about tariffs and against the free trade they once espoused. It’s also interesting that he’s mentioning reciprocal tariffs in retaliation for tariffs towards the US, but doesn’t seem equally eager to mention that these sort of reciprocal tariffs were imposed against the US following our own newly imposed tariffs under Trump — which an article in the NYT describes as having a “negative effect on American jobs.” Per the article, “it is not clear precisely why import tariffs did not result in more U.S. jobs” overall — perhaps cheap imports from other countries can be blamed — but the claim that tariffs are wonderful happy things that will protect jobs in the U.S. despite the wishes of foreign countries fails to account that we get the exact same thrown back at us, once we raise import tariffs. There’s definitely a role for tariffs to play, but we also learned that, from, a simple standpoint, specialization means that trade is generally beneficial for both parties. I suppose now, though, tariffs aren’t the issue, the rhetoric surrounding them is, and spurring on key Rust Belt voters with talk of protectionism regarding the steel industry is just the way to play the electoral game.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/02/us/politics/trump-tariffs-jobs-voters.html
As Evan mentioned the economy will be a subject that many will be interested to hear about and take into consideration for elections. Although Trump claims that establising tariffs will benefit the nation's economy by increasing demand in manufacting within the nation instead of foreign imports, there could negative impacts. Not only will tensions between countries increase it could put at risk the safety of our country. Trump asking for more Presidential power can also be dangerous and it should be taken into account with every factor laid out so there isn't any bais. There are so many factors that voters take into account but for this election it will be more harder because they need and should take into account that Trump has already been President, and the two wars that are currently happening.
I agree that imposing a tariff to limit foreign competition would increase demand and encourage US manufacturing. However, I think that trade with other nations, like China, is important, and it is good to keep good relationships with them. I am curious to see how this would affect Trump's run for president, and whether he'll be able to pass his reciprocal trade act if elected.
This proposed movement to expand tariffs on foreign trade is one that would certainly be popular with those supporting the impending Tiktok ban. This whole issue of reciprocal trading is a big factor in why some middle class (mostly older) Americans support Trump, as they feel like Biden is trying to hard to "make nice" with China (which I'm not sure I personally agree with, but its a common sentiment among those who approve of tariffs on American goods being reciprocated to goods from other countries as well).
I believe that tariffs could protect American industries, particularly steel and car manufacturing, from unfair foreign competition, especially from China. However, while this approach may strengthen U.S. manufacturing and increase demand for domestic products, it also raises concerns about potential economic tension and deteriorating trade relations, particularly with China. As we approach the election season, these economic policies will likely be a significant factor for voters, especially with those concerned about the decline of U.S. manufacturing.
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