Opinion | China shouldn’t bet on Trump’s voters deserting him when the trade war takes it toll

Robert Delaney says the Chinese trade war strategy of targeting states that voted for Trump with retaliatory tariffs ahead of the midterm elections may backfire - Trump’s voters love the controversy he generates and may flock to him again

Reading Time:3 minutes

A supporter holds up a portrait of US President Donald Trump as he arrives to speak during a rally in Great Falls, Montana, on July 5. Photo: AFP

Published: 5:00pm, 9 Jul 2018Updated: 7:34pm, 9 Jul 2018

Now that the US-China trade war has darkened the doors of companies depending on the world’s most robust bilateral economic relationship, prognostication over how long this fight will last has begun.

Beijing is betting on a low threshold of pain among US voters in the country’s “red states”. The strategy makes sense at first blush. Target products made in states that voted for Donald Trump, pork and soybeans for example, and the president’s support will fall away.

The targets also include US ginseng, which comes from Wisconsin. The Midwestern state’s election night result in 2016 delivered a shock to the Democrats that many still haven’t recovered from. Hillary Clinton’s loss in a state that had not gone to a Republican presidential candidate since 1984 showed how badly voters there wanted a departure from politics as usual.

Beijing is hoping that a dose of economic pain will show these voters, and those in swing states, that Trump was the wrong solution to their grievances.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x