Tonight at 9 PM Eastern Time, the long-awaited debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump will take place.
This may be their only televised debate and our chance to get a closer look at their policies. Voters will need to consider how the candidates’ trade policies will impact the U.S. economy. Also in the background, on October 1st, we could have a potential strike happening at U.S. ports that could cripple our supply chain.
What is their stance on tariffs?
Trump strongly supports using tariffs as a key tool in his economic strategy. If re-elected, he plans to go further with a 60% tariff on China and 10% to 20% on other nations. He’s also pushed for “reciprocity” in tariffs, matching those imposed on U.S. goods. He seeks to reduce U.S. reliance on foreign trade and revive domestic manufacturing. Trump is planning to use tariff revenue to fund his economic agenda, avoiding tax increases.
Harris supports a more targeted approach, continuing President Joe Biden’s strategy. She backs maintaining most of the tariffs on China. An example is imposing tariffs on specific areas to protect American jobs – for example, electric vehicles (100% tariff) and solar panels (50% tariff). Harris is against broad sweeping tariffs as she believes it will increase costs for Americans. She prefers policies that strengthen alliances and partnerships, such as the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework to encourage cooperation without reducing tariffs.
Where does a potential port strike come into play?
It will be interesting to see if the labor union issue is mentioned during the debate, even though the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) has voiced they do not want any government intervention.
The work strike is set to take place on October 1st, shutting down ports on the U.S. East and Gulf Coast. The ILA is demanding a 77% increase for it’s 45,000 workers. A work stoppage would be highly disruptive – estimating one week of cargo backlogs for every one day of stoppage. A strike would not only impact the U.S. but send ripples along the entire supply chain. For example, the longest stoppage was in 1977 when ILA members went on strike for three months.
As the election approaches, it’s important to stay up to date on various policies.
It will be interesting to see how the next U.S. president will approach trade relations between the U.S. and China and the priorities here at home.
