Risky Politics: Trump’s tariff tactics could ignite domestic backlash:
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Risky Politics: Trump’s tariff tactics could ignite domestic backlash:
Despite Former President Donald Trump's praise of tariffs as one of the most beautiful terms in the English language, recent surveys indicate that a growing number of Americans are worried about the impact of his administration's tariff policies.
According to a survey conducted by Harris Poll in early March, 72% of Americans stated they were concerned about tariffs. The Guardian broke down the polling data and noted that the concern is real on both sides of the political aisle.
When it comes to concerns about tariffs, 90% are ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ concerned while 69% of Independents and 57% of Republicans say the same. The numbers were just as concerning when respondents were asked about tariffs causing a potential recession.
89% of Democrats said they were ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ concerned about potential tariffs. Independents were slightly less concerned with 75% saying so and Republicans showed the least concern, though more than half (65%) said they were not concerned.
“The president has also threatened to go further next month, promising sweeping ‘reciprocal’ tariffs on all imports from across the world and universal tariffs on all products imported from Canada and Mexico,” The Guardian wrote
Harris Poll’s findings come just one month after a similar poll showed Americans were already very concerned about Trump’s tariff policies and what they could do to hurt the US economy.
Survey data of 2,121 Americans from Harris Poll conducted on behalf of Bloomberg News between the 6th and 8th of February found that nearly 60% of U.S. adults thought Trump’s tariff policies would lead to higher prices.
Harris Poll found that 44% of Americans believed Trump’s proposed tariffs will be bad for the economy while 31% thought they will be a boost.
“Even within the president’s own party, many aren’t sold on his trade agenda. Only half of Republican respondents said the tariffs would be an economic boon,” the Financial Post noted about the data. The Harris Poll’s findings were in line with similar results from Abacus Data in regard to tariffs on Canada.
Trump has always been tough on Canada, and his second term looks like it will be no different. One of the President's first big policy promises came weeks before he was inaugurated, and it focused directly on Canada.
While riffing on Truth Social in late November 2024, Trump promised to levy a blanket 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico until both countries addressed the flow of drugs and illegal immigrants crossing their borders.
Whether or not Trump’s cited reasons for placing a huge blanket tariff on Canada made sense has been hotly debated by experts and politicians on both sides of the border. However, the fierce debating didn’t stop him.
On February 1st, Trump put into place his promised 25% tariff and it was set to go into effect on February 4th. Canada's response was quick. It levied its own tariffs on billions of dollars in goods and a 30-day delay was reached with Tariffs set to go into effect March 4th.
Polling from just before Trump made his tariff announcement from the Canadian public opinion and market research firm Abacus Data found that most Americans didn’t like the tariffs Trump planned to place on Canada.
“One of the clearest findings is that an overwhelming majority (86%) believe Canada and the United States are allies. Similarly, 84% accept that free trade between the two countries generally makes both better off,” Abacus Data explained.
“Yet alongside this goodwill, 56% also believe that Canada benefits ‘way more’ from free trade with the U.S. By seeing Canada as the bigger winner, many Americans could be more inclined to back tariffs meant to ‘rebalance’ perceived inequalities,” Abacus Data added.
When US respondents were asked if they thought a 25% tariff on all Canadian goods imported into the United States was a good idea, 11% said they thought it was a “very good idea” and a further 17% said it was just a “good idea”. Putting the total at 28%.
Interestingly, 17% thought a blanket tariff on all Canadian goods imported into the US was a “very bad idea” while 21% thought it was just a “bad idea”. This put the total of those who thought the tariffs were a bad idea at 39%.
A further 19% of Americans thought the 25% blanket tariff on Canadian imports was an “Ok idea” while 15% said they didn’t know how to answer the question. Fortunately, Trump's tariff never actually went into place.
Canada agreed to give Trump some concessions and Trump agreed to halt his tariffs on Canada for 30-days. However, one week later, Trump placed a blanket 25% tariff on all global steel and aluminum imports into the United States.
The Trump administration didn’t provide a carveout for Canada despite the President’s promise to halt his tariffs on the country for 30 days. This angered many in Canada but the ramifications of Trump’s actions have yet to be seen.
According to CBC News, Canada is the biggest supplier of steel and aluminum to the United States, providing nearly a quarter of US steel imports ($15.9 Cdn in 2024), and almost 60% of US aluminum imports.
Trump’s 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum weren't set to go into effect until March 12th, so there was still a lot of time at that point for Trump to provide a carveout for Canadian-supplied steel and aluminum, but that turned out to be wishful thinking.
Trump's tariffs have since gone into effect. However, some exemptions were made for key industries such as the auto industry. A 25% tariff on aluminum and steel was also began on March 12th against the entire world, including Canada.