Trump's Case for China Tariffs Fails to Persuade

[DonViejo]

A survey finds that voters think the trade measures will be bad for the United States, and that even most Republicans say they will lead to higher prices.

June 28, 2019

By Ben Casselman and Jim Tankersley

As President Trump weighs a possible resolution to his trade conflict with China, one factor may be pushing him toward a deal: His trade policies are broadly unpopular with American voters.

Large majorities of Democrats and independents say the tariffs Mr. Trump has imposed on Chinese goods — and the retaliatory tariffs that China has imposed on American products — will be bad for the United States, according to a survey this month for The New York Times by the online research platform SurveyMonkey.

Republicans still mostly support Mr. Trump’s trade policies, but there are cracks showing even there. A majority of Republicans said they expected tariffs to lead to higher prices for American consumers. Only among the president’s strongest supporters do a plurality believe his policies will bring back manufacturing jobs without raising prices, as Mr. Trump has claimed.

Over all, 53 percent of Americans say the China tariffs will be bad for the United States, compared with 43 percent who say the tariffs will be a good thing. Other surveys have found similar results.

If Mr. Trump is concerned by such results, he isn’t showing it. In an interview with Fox Business Network on Wednesday, he played down the importance of reaching a deal with China at this week’s Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan. “I’m very happy either way,” he said.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/28/business/economy/trump-china-tariffs-voters.html