Trump Threatens to Enact Tariffs of 60% or Higher on China

As president, Trump imposed a 25% tariff on hundreds of billions of Chinese imports, which Biden has let stand. Despite the damage these tariffs have done to US businesses, on Sunday, Trump said on Fox that he would consider raising them to 60% — or even higher.

Fighting talk

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Fox News host Maria Bartiromo asked Trump on Sunday if he was considering a 60% tariff. “No,” Trump responded, “I would say maybe it’s going to be more than that.”

Building on before

In 2018, Trump imposed a 25% tariff on about $50 billion of Chinese goods, which sparked a multi-year trade war. Ultimately, the US targeted over $350 billion of Chinese imports.

Widespread support

Trump’s promise to vastly increase these tariffs will likely be popular among his base. In 2021, Pew found that 72% of people who were Republican or leaned Republican said it was more important to “get tougher than build a strong relationship with China on economic issues.”

Bipartisan support

While Republicans are far more likely to support such tough proposals than Democrats, a recent report by Barron argues that high tariffs have bipartisan support. In December, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party released a report calling for raising the 25% tariffs on Chinese imports higher.

Major problem

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The only problem with these tariffs is that they overwhelmingly hurt US businesses. According to a report from the US International Trade Commission, US importers have “borne almost the full burden” of the tariffs.

Total failure

One problem is that US companies rely on Chinese imports for the materials and goods used in production. As a result, the tariffs make production in the US far more costly, which led some companies to move production to China — which is exactly what the tariffs were supposedly meant to prevent.

Saving little

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The tariffs were intended to protect US manufacturing jobs. However, as Barron explained in its January report, they likely had a “negligible” effect on US manufacturing employment. Additionally, a study by the Peterson Institute for International Economics concluded that each manufacturing job “saved” cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Declining sales

The tariffs have also pushed Chinese consumers, who form one of the world’s most important markets, away from US goods. Major US brands like General Motors and Ford have seen declines in market share and sales in China since the tariffs were imposed in 2018.

Dubious comments

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Trump has been criticized numerous times over the years for praising Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian leader. In 2018, Trump said, “He’s now president for life. President for life. And he’s great. And look, he was able to do that. I think it’s great. Maybe we’ll give that a shot someday.”

Fundamental flaw

“Dictators are always arrogant,” Qiao Mu told the Guardian. Mu is a journalism professor forced into exile from China. “It’s a disaster for political civilization.”

Potential interference

Though Xi promised Biden in November that China wouldn’t meddle in the upcoming US election, Trump disagreed on Sunday. “I think they will” interfere, he said. “They won’t be interfering on my behalf,” he claimed.