Tariffs have varying fallout in trade-heavy Washington state
SEATTLE — Workers at a $1.7 billion polysilicon plant in central Washington believe President Donald Trump’s trade war with China may be their best chance for staying employed.
Unable to compete with Chinese factories aided by government subsidies and high tariffs, REC Silicon is shutting down the facility, which makes products used in solar panels. The company, which once numbered 500 workers, is keeping its remaining 200 on the payroll for six weeks in hopes that pressure from Trump will force China to make a trade deal. But the prospects are uncertain.
For other industries, the administration’s policies have been tough medicine, showing the complicated effects of tariffs in one of the nation’s most trade-dependent states.
Washington’s overseas shipments of apples, dairy, seafood, wheat and soy have plummeted. China has hinted it might order fewer Boeing planes, which make up a huge part of the state’s exports. A popular fishing boat company has seen orders canceled, a cooperative of Northwest dairy farmers has had to find alternative foreign markets, and a Seattle-based electric bike company, Rad Power Bikes, has curbed expansion plans.
https://www.heraldnet.com/business/tariffs-have-varying-fallout-in-trade-heavy-washington-state/?utm_source=DAILY+HERALD&utm_campaign=f985c9ab58-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d81d073bb4-f985c9ab58-228635337
