S. companies that can’t compete with cheap Chinese goods must either lower their costs or go out of business. Many businesses reduce their costs by outsourcing jobs to China or India. Outsourcing adds to U.S. unemployment. Other industries have just dried up. U.
S. manufacturing, as measured by the number of jobs, declined 34 percent between 1998 and 2010. As these industries declined, so has U.S. competitiveness in the global marketplace.
What’s Being DonePresident Donald Trump promised to lower the trade deficit with China. On March 1, 2018, he announced he would impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum. On July 6, Trump’s tariffs went into effect for $34 billion of Chinese imports. China canceled all import contracts for soybeans.Trump’s tariffs has raised the costs of imported steel, most of which is from China. Trump’s move comes a month after he imposed tariffs and quotas on imported solar panels and washing machines.
China has become a global leader in solar panel production. The tariffs have depressed the stock market since they were announced.The Trump administration is developing further anti-China protectionist measures, including more tariffs. It wants China to remove requirements that U.
S. companies transfer technology to Chinese firms. China requires companies to do this to gain access to China’s market.
