Little has been said about what a Kamala Harris trade agenda would look like should she remain in the White House – only this time as the President. But following last week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago, new clues have emerged and it seems fairly certain that Harris will keep with the current trajectory of the Biden administration.
Keep in mind that Biden extended the Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports in May and added new ones, including 100% tariffs expected on China-made EVs later this year, a move that was applauded at the time by Financial Times columnist Rana Foroohor.
See details on Section 301 extension here by CPA economist Andrew Rechenberg.
Harris’ speech at the Convention on Thursday night did not mention trade in any way. On China, she said, “I will make sure that we lead the world into the future on space and artificial intelligence and that America—not China—wins the competition for the 21st century.”
However, delegates approved this week a Democratic Party platform for trade that is supposed to follow in Biden’s footsteps. According to the DC online newsletter Inside Trade, the platform is “sparse on details about trade policies” but borrows the Biden administration’s language in describing a shift toward a more “inclusive” trade agenda.
CPA did not review this document cited by Inside Trade.
The Biden administration trade agenda was not specifically about “inclusive” trade, but rather focused on “worker-centric” trade policy.
Despite criticisms from Republicans and some members of his own party, Biden and his trade team did not press forward with any free trade agreements. Rather, the Biden team successfully negotiated an end to trade retaliations from the European Union for Trump-era tariffs on steel, and got them to agree to a tariff rate quota policy instead. This removed tariffs on a number of U.S. goods exported to the EU, for example.
“For too long, America’s trade policies and approach to the global economy let middle-class jobs move offshore, hollowed out our supply chains, rewarded corporate CEOs instead of valuing workers, and failed to generate inclusive economic growth,” the Democratic Party trade platform reads, according to the DC-based Inside Trade newsletter. “In response to the previous status quo, President Biden is committed to building a fairer, more durable global economic order, for the benefit of the American people and for people everywhere.” There was no quote from Harris’s position on the matter.
According to Inside Trade, the platform supports many of the existing governments trade initiatives, contending they will help advance global labor and environmental efforts.
It is likely that a Harris administration would be more protective of industries that produce goods for the so-called green economy – which would include the solar supply chain and EV battery materials to name a few.
The platform also mentions the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), which is not a trade deal.
It said that with IPEF and other commercial diplomacy efforts in Latin America, Asia and Africa, “The United States will mobilize tens of billions of dollars to invest in clean energy development and critical infrastructure with high labor standards around the world. These investments will result in high-quality growth, increased supply chain resilience, and progress toward global climate goals.”
The platform does not make mention of building those materials at home, which was a cornerstone of the early Biden agenda, once referred to as Build Back Better.
Harris Likely Against 10% Universal Tariffs
A Harris administration is unlikely to adopt the Trump proposal to consider a 10% universal tariff on all imports to compensate for an overvalued dollar. The currency differential makes it more attractive to import and to invest in manufacturing abroad.
Democrats called the universal tariff “reckless” because it also targeted allies with whom the U.S. does not have free trade agreements, namely Japan and the EU. They citeda March study conducted by the Center for American Progress Action Fund (CAP), a progressive think tank that exists to promote Democratic Party ideas, that said the tariff would raise inflation.
Harris refers to the 10% tariff proposal as “national sales tax” on consumers that could cost U.S. families up to $3,900 a year, citing another report from CAP.
On China trade, it is fairly obvious that any new tariffs from a Harris government would be “targeted” to critical sectors of industry, especially the clean tech industries that are receiving benefits under the Inflation Reduction Act. The same may be true for semiconductors following the passing of the CHIPS and Sciences Act.
Earlier this year, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellensaid that the Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods would not raise consumer prices. Similarly, National Economic Council Director Lael Brainardreiterated the importance of the Section 301 China tariffs to avoid aChina Shock 2.0.
“More economists have come round to the view that trade policy is necessary to defend and promote high-value manufacturing industries in the U.S. in light of the efforts by China and other low-wage countries to export their way to growth,” said CPA chief economist Jeff Ferry.
Areport by the International Trade Commission in March of last year said Section 232 and Section 301 tariffs reduced imports and stimulated more U.S. production of the tariffed goods, with only short term impact on prices.
Inside Trade’s article made no mention of Harris’ plans to continue Trump and Biden’s export restrictions policy, or expand capital market sanctions on China-bound investments.
MADE IN AMERICA.
CPA is the leading national, bipartisan organization exclusively representing domestic producers and workers across many industries and sectors of the U.S. economy.
What Will a Kamala Harris Trade Agenda Look Like?
Little has been said about what a Kamala Harris trade agenda would look like should she remain in the White House – only this time as the President. But following last week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago, new clues have emerged and it seems fairly certain that Harris will keep with the current trajectory of the Biden administration.
Keep in mind that Biden extended the Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports in May and added new ones, including 100% tariffs expected on China-made EVs later this year, a move that was applauded at the time by Financial Times columnist Rana Foroohor.
See details on Section 301 extension here by CPA economist Andrew Rechenberg.
Harris’ speech at the Convention on Thursday night did not mention trade in any way. On China, she said, “I will make sure that we lead the world into the future on space and artificial intelligence and that America—not China—wins the competition for the 21st century.”
However, delegates approved this week a Democratic Party platform for trade that is supposed to follow in Biden’s footsteps. According to the DC online newsletter Inside Trade, the platform is “sparse on details about trade policies” but borrows the Biden administration’s language in describing a shift toward a more “inclusive” trade agenda.
CPA did not review this document cited by Inside Trade.
The Biden administration trade agenda was not specifically about “inclusive” trade, but rather focused on “worker-centric” trade policy.
Despite criticisms from Republicans and some members of his own party, Biden and his trade team did not press forward with any free trade agreements. Rather, the Biden team successfully negotiated an end to trade retaliations from the European Union for Trump-era tariffs on steel, and got them to agree to a tariff rate quota policy instead. This removed tariffs on a number of U.S. goods exported to the EU, for example.
According to Inside Trade, the platform supports many of the existing governments trade initiatives, contending they will help advance global labor and environmental efforts.
It is likely that a Harris administration would be more protective of industries that produce goods for the so-called green economy – which would include the solar supply chain and EV battery materials to name a few.
The platform also mentions the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), which is not a trade deal.
It said that with IPEF and other commercial diplomacy efforts in Latin America, Asia and Africa, “The United States will mobilize tens of billions of dollars to invest in clean energy development and critical infrastructure with high labor standards around the world. These investments will result in high-quality growth, increased supply chain resilience, and progress toward global climate goals.”
The platform does not make mention of building those materials at home, which was a cornerstone of the early Biden agenda, once referred to as Build Back Better.
Harris Likely Against 10% Universal Tariffs
A Harris administration is unlikely to adopt the Trump proposal to consider a 10% universal tariff on all imports to compensate for an overvalued dollar. The currency differential makes it more attractive to import and to invest in manufacturing abroad.
Democrats called the universal tariff “reckless” because it also targeted allies with whom the U.S. does not have free trade agreements, namely Japan and the EU. They cited a March study conducted by the Center for American Progress Action Fund (CAP), a progressive think tank that exists to promote Democratic Party ideas, that said the tariff would raise inflation.
Harris refers to the 10% tariff proposal as “national sales tax” on consumers that could cost U.S. families up to $3,900 a year, citing another report from CAP.
Read the Coalition for a Prosperous America’s view on the impacts of the 10% tariff.
On China trade, it is fairly obvious that any new tariffs from a Harris government would be “targeted” to critical sectors of industry, especially the clean tech industries that are receiving benefits under the Inflation Reduction Act. The same may be true for semiconductors following the passing of the CHIPS and Sciences Act.
Earlier this year, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that the Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods would not raise consumer prices. Similarly, National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard reiterated the importance of the Section 301 China tariffs to avoid a China Shock 2.0.
“More economists have come round to the view that trade policy is necessary to defend and promote high-value manufacturing industries in the U.S. in light of the efforts by China and other low-wage countries to export their way to growth,” said CPA chief economist Jeff Ferry.
A report by the International Trade Commission in March of last year said Section 232 and Section 301 tariffs reduced imports and stimulated more U.S. production of the tariffed goods, with only short term impact on prices.
Inside Trade’s article made no mention of Harris’ plans to continue Trump and Biden’s export restrictions policy, or expand capital market sanctions on China-bound investments.
MADE IN AMERICA.
CPA is the leading national, bipartisan organization exclusively representing domestic producers and workers across many industries and sectors of the U.S. economy.
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