Former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris will eventually pursue trade protectionist policies should she become President of the United States.

U.S. political analysts predict that the issue of imports, especially from China, will play a crucial role in the nomination decision.

In May 2024, President Joe Biden introduced a series of tariffs targeting Chinese goods, to be implemented gradually over the next three years. 

These tariffs cover a wide variety of products, such as electric vehicles, medical supplies, solar panels and other critical goods. 

In addition, President Biden has plans to subsidize key industries, with the goal of providing the United States with a competitive advantage in the global marketplace. 

This approach reinforces his administration’s commitment to boost domestic manufacturing and encourage technological innovation as part of its strategy to address the nation’s economic challenges.

Protectionist Trade Policies

In contrast, former President Trump has stated his intention to apply a 10% across-the-board tariff on all imports, with an even higher 60% tax on Chinese goods. 

This aggressive stance toward trade is consistent with his previous administration’s policies. These policies focused on reducing the trade deficit and protecting U.S. jobs from what he considers unfair foreign competition.

Last week, Trump suggested that the across-the-board tariff could be increased to 20 percent.

For her part, Vice President Harris sharply criticized Trump’s proposed universal tariff, describing it as a “national sales tax” that could cost American families as much as $3,900 a year if implemented.

To date, the U.S. has imposed tariffs on $550 billion worth of Chinese goods. 

In response, China has placed tariffs on U.S. goods totaling $185 billion. 

Tariffs

For several months, neither China nor the United States showed any signs of wanting to reverse these measures.

However, on January 15, 2020, the first signs of a truce were seen when the two sides signed the Phase One Agreement. 

This agreement formalized the reduction of tariffs and the expansion of trade purchases. 

China committed to increase purchases of certain U.S. goods and services by an additional $200 billion over the two-year period from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2021. 

However, China purchased only 57% of this pledged amount.