On September 10, 2024, former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump spoke during the presidential debate with US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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Donald Trump and Kamala Harris clashed over China policy during a presidential debate hosted by ABC News on Tuesday night.
In her opening remarks, Harris targeted Trump’s tariff policies, which included a vow to impose a blanket tariff of 10% to 20% on all imported products.
“My opponent has a plan, which I call the ‘Trump Sales Tax,’ that would impose a 20% tax on everyday items that you rely on to get you through the month,” she said, adding that the policy would hit the middle class. class family.
Trump has defended his tariff proposals, which include additional tariffs of 60% to 100% on China, that would double the trade war he launched during his first administration.
“In 75 years, other countries will eventually repay us for what we have done for the world, and the tariffs will be huge,” the former president said, adding that his administration had received “billions of dollars.” dollars”.
Some economists estimate that U.S. businesses and final consumers The first thing to bear the brunt is tariffs Trump imposed tariffs on the EU and China in 2018 and 2019.
Trump also pointed out that the Biden-Harris administration maintained most of his administration’s tariffs on China.
“If she doesn’t like them, they should get out and they should cut the tariffs immediately,” Trump said.
“They never lifted the tariffs because it was too much money. They couldn’t and it would completely destroy everything they set out to do.”
In addition to retaining most of Trump’s tariffs, the Biden administration in May raise tariffs $18 billion worth of Chinese goods, including semiconductors and electric vehicles.
Most economists generally believe Tariffs raise prices. American Enterprise Institute senior fellow Steve Cumming reiterated this point on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Wednesday, arguing that Trump’s additional tariffs will be “both inflationary and deflationary.”
Trump tried to downplay these concerns during the debate, arguing that American consumers would not pay for increased tariffs.
“What’s going to happen and who’s going to get the higher price is China and all the countries that have been cheating us for years,” he said.
Harris, meanwhile, used time in the debate to argue that the Trump administration was too soft on China.
“Let’s be clear, the Trump administration created a trade deficit that’s one of the highest we’ve ever seen in the history of the United States,” Harris said, adding that he “started the trade war.”
“During Donald Trump’s presidency, he ended up selling U.S. chips to China to help them improve and modernize their military,” she said, an apparent reference to the current administration’s efforts to increase the number of U.S. chips it sells to China through e.g. CHIPS and the Science Act.
“(He) basically betrayed us, and China policy should be about ensuring that the United States of America wins the competition in the 21st century,” Harris said.
“That requires focusing on relationships with our allies, focusing on investing in American technology so we can win the race, focusing on artificial intelligence, focusing on quantum computing, focusing on what we need to do to support the American workforce.”
Economists and policy experts previously told CNBC It is expected that Trump’s economic policy towards China in his second term will focus on high trade tariffs. By contrast, Harris is expected to focus more on targeted restrictions coordinated with U.S. allies.
