Trump talks tariffs benefits with steelworkers as farmers fret

Global Business

Donald Trump has made his second visit this week to the U.S Midwest.

The region’s voters were key to him winning the presidency.

But while some are suffering in the global trade war, Trump is keen to prove that others are enjoying a resurgence thanks to his tariffs on foreign imports.

CGTN’s Owen Fairclough reports.

Steelworkers helped put Donald Trump in the White House.

And he thinks his trade war is helping factories like the one he visited in in Illinois to open up again by hitting foreign metal imports with tariffs to protect domestic producers.

Granite City’s closure was partly blamed on cheap metal imports driving steelworks out of business.

Trump told employees: “Our steel workers are going back to work in record numbers, have you noticed? “The blast furnace here in Granite City is blazing bright.”

Trump is fighting trade battles on multiple fronts.

And if one with Europe appears to be on hold after a visit from the European Commission’s President, another with China is taking its toll on another set of voters who are crucial for Trump.

Farmers are to receive up to 12 billion dollars to compensate them for their losses from China’s tariffs on U.S. agriculture exports—retaliation for U.S duties on Chinese imports worth 34 billion.

Beijing said Washington’s strategy is backfiring.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Geng Shuang told a news conference, “The current situation is completely due to the United States pursuing unilateralism and protectionism, breaking its promises and flip-flopping, and insisting on provoking a trade war toward China. American farmers are now footing the bill for the U.S. government’s trade bullying.”

Trump is threatening to escalate this battle further by ramping up duties on $500 billion worth of Chinese goods—almost all of China’s exports to the U.S. in 2017.

His aim: force China into remedying longstanding complaints about unfair trade practices that harm the U.S economy, and that China continues to deny.


Governor John Hickenlooper on the importance of China-U.S. trade

U.S. governors are closely monitoring the trade tensions with China. They know tariffs could affect their states’ bottom line. CGTN’s Mike Walter spoke with Colorado’s Governor at the National Governors Association’s summer summit. John Hickenlooper was quick to point out the importance of trade between China and his state.


Most Americans not expected to start feeling effect of tariffs until after midterm elections

CGTN’s Mike Walter interviews Dan Scandling, senior ditector at APCO about recent trade and tariff news.