Trump Plans to Impose ‘More Than 60%' Tariffs on Chinese Goods if Elected as President in 2024
If re-elected in November 2024, former President Donald Trump intends to intensify the trade spat he started with China during his first term in office. In a Fox News interview, the front-runner for the Republican nomination stated that he is thinking about putting 60% or even more tariffs on imports from China in his possible second term. “We have to do it,” Trump said in an interview on Fox’s Sunday Morning Futures, per CNBC.
The Trump campaign was considering a hypothetical 60% tariff plan on Chinese imports, according to an initial report by The Washington Post. Beyond China, the former president has said that, despite widespread opposition over the potential harm to consumers, he would apply a 10% general tax on all imports to the United States. The former president hinted in the Sunday interview that he would even raise the tariffs on China above 60%, saying, “Maybe it’s going to be more than that.”
Trump started a trade war when he imposed $250 billion in tariffs on China in 2018. After that, the nation retaliated against the United States with its own set of tariffs, starting an extensive economic conflict that altered the dynamics of international trade.
The American Action Forum, a conservative think organization, estimates that since 2018, Trump's trade battle with China has cost Americans $195 billion. The U.S.-China Business Council claims that the economic struggle has resulted in the loss of about 245,000 jobs in the United States. Deutsche Bank calculated at the time that the trade war was rupturing trillions of dollars in the stock market. The tariff conflict put the United States and China—once each other's largest commercial partners—in a precarious geopolitical position.
Trump's sole rival for the presidency, former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, attacked the China tariff policy idea because of its financial implications for American taxpayers. “What Donald Trump’s about to do, is he’s going to raise every household’s expenses by $2,600 a year,” Haley said on CNBC in January, slamming Trump, using data from the fiscally conservative National Taxpayers Union.
Her rebuke is in line with Wall Street investors' worries that markets will be disrupted once again by a new trade war with China. During his presidency, President Joe Biden has worked to normalize the cold ties with China. Trump, however, has been criticizing Biden for both cozying up to China's autocratic president, Xi Jinping, and caving into Beijing. “I like President Xi a lot,” Trump claimed. “He was a really good friend of mine during my time.”
In the past, Trump has passionately lauded Xi for his firm hold on both his people and his administration. Xi is one of the many authoritarian leaders Trump has openly praised, others being Viktor Orban, Vladimir Putin, and many others.
