Trump, accepting Republican presidential nomination, vows high tariffs on China-made cars
“They are building some of the largest auto plants anywhere in the world,” he said, calling instead for factories to be built in the US and for Americans to “man those plants”.
“And if they don’t agree with us we will put a tariff of approximately 100 to 200 per cent on each car, and they will be unsellable in the US.”
He told the convention: “We will not let countries come in, take our jobs, and plunder our nation. The way they will sell their product in America is to build it in America, and only in America.”
As US inflation gathered pace in 2022 – a consequence, economists say, of the pandemic – it became a talking point for Republicans accusing Biden of causing the problem.
Economists have questioned the trade war’s efficacy, noting the degree to which imports of Chinese goods have been re-routed through Vietnam and other countries. America’s trade deficit with China has shown only a slight decrease, to US$279 billion from US$300 billion, between 2019 and 2023.
Tax Foundation, an independent think tank in Washington, estimated last month that tariffs introduced by Trump and Biden “will reduce long-run GDP by 0.2 per cent … and employment by 142,000 full-time equivalent jobs”.
The foundation estimated that US importers have paid a cumulative US$79 billion owing to the punitive levies.
Trump has vowed to raise tariffs across the board on all imports if elected, but has not been consistent about what he would do about those on Chinese imports.
He walked back the percentage during a recent interview with Bloomberg, while he has not retracted his commitment to impose a 10 per cent tariff on all imports into the US.
As Republicans move towards the election unified under Trump, it is becoming increasingly uncertain that he will face Biden, whom the White House said on Wednesday had tested positive for Covid-19.
Most recently, Democratic congressman Adam Schiff of California, who is expected to win his race for a US Senate seat, called for Biden on Wednesday to “pass the torch”.
Schiff is a close ally of former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, who wields significant influence in the party.
Citing people familiar with the situation, CNN reported on Thursday that Pelosi has privately told Biden recently that polling shows that he cannot defeat Trump.
Similar reports accumulated throughout the day.
By evening in Washington, Reuters reported that Biden was taking calls to step aside as the Democratic presidential candidate seriously and that multiple Democratic officials thought an exit was a matter of time.
“His soul searching is actually happening, I know that for a fact,” Reuters cited one source as saying. “He’s thinking about this very seriously.”