Regardless of who wins the White House in November, tariffs against China are here to stay. That’s the consensus in Washington, although Democrats and Republicans have different approaches. Meanwhile, who bears the cost of tariffs remains a topic for debate.
The Trump administration imposed tariffs on more than $300 billion worth of Chinese goods to respond to an array of unfair trade practices, including intellectual property theft.
The Biden–Harris administration has kept all of them in place and, in May, increased rates on $18 billion of goods, including electric vehicles, solar panels, medical equipment, lithium-ion batteries, steel, and aluminum.
Both administrations have used tariffs to level the playing field for domestic manufacturers as China unloads its excess production in the U.S. market at cheap prices. Without them, domestic industries will keep losing market share and cutting jobs. An August poll by the CATO Institute found that a majority of Republicans and Democrats support tariffs levied by their party but not the opposing party.
Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly said on the campaign trail that he would raise China tariffs to 60 percent and apply at least 10 percent tariffs to goods imported from other countries.
During a Sept. 5 speech at the Economic Club of New York, he credited protective tariff policy for “opening up a higher and better destiny” for Americans.
Vice President Kamala Harris’s position on tariffs is less clear but they’ll be retained if she keeps the current administration’s policies. The administration will announce its final tariff determinations soon.
Tariffs are a “key piece of the solution,” if used in conjunction with other trade and industrial policies according to Nick Iacovella from Coalition for a Prosperous America.
