Americans name the countries that deserve the harshest Trump tariffs with China the most ‘unfair’ on trade
President-elect Donald Trump is threatening to slap tariffs on multiple countries when he returns to the White House as he argues the U.S. has been taken advantage of on trade.
His announcements have sparked backlash around the globe and concerns of trade wars, with nations like Mexico and Canada warning they will retaliate to harsh economic policies.
But Americans think most countries have acted fairly when it comes to trade with the U.S. – with one major exception.
According to exclusive polling for DailyMail.com conducted by J.L. Partners, only 20 percent of voters believe China has acted fairly when it comes to trade while 59 percent said it has not.
As a result, more than half of voters would support placing tariffs on Beijing, despite wide-ranging concerns the move would increase prices.
That’s dramatic difference from other countries where more Americans than not believe they have acted fairly.
When it comes to the United Kingdom, 50 percent of Americans believe they have acted fairly on trade while only 20 percent believe they have not.
53 percent of Americans believe Canada has acted fairly while only 24 percent believe they have not.
46 percent of Americans believe Japan and European Union countries such as France and Germany have treated the U.S. fairly on trade while only 25 percent said such countries have not.
More Americans than not also believe Mexico has treated the U.S. fairly on trade 39 percent to 32 percent.
The polling shows that some of the opinions on trade break down along party lines.
While 53 percent of voters believe Canada has treated the U.S. fairly on trade, that includes 70 percent of Democrats and 47 percent of independents but just 40 percent of Republicans.
However, more Republicans than not still believe the U.S. has been treated fairly by Canada 40 percent to 39 percent.
While 39 percent of voters believe Mexico has treated the U.S. fairly on trade, only 25 percent of Republicans believe that while 52 percent of Republicans do not.
However, more Democrats and Independents than not believe Mexico has treated the U.S. fairly on trade.
With that, 52 percent of voters strongly or somewhat support slapping tariffs on China.
But even while more voters than not believe other countries have treated the U.S. fairly on trade, more voters than not still want tariffs in most cases.
41 percent support tariffs on Mexico while 30 percent oppose it. 37 percent support tariffs on European Union countries while 30 percent do not.
37 percent support tariffs on Canada while 33 percent do not.
The polling was conducted from January 10 to 12 of 1,009 registered voters. The margin of error was 3.4 percent.
It comes as Trump has threatened a wide range of tariffs targeting multiple countries, including the U.S.’s top trade partners.
On the campaign trail, Trump vowed to slap China with 60 percent tariffs. After the election, he threatened 10 percent additional tariffs on Chinese imports.
He has also claimed he would slap 25 percent tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada if they do not meet his demands to address drugs and illegal immigration coming across U.S. borders.
Both countries have warned they would respond with retaliatory tariffs should the president-elect move forward with his threats, triggering a trade war.
Trump has threatened across-the-board tariffs but he specifically singled out China, Mexico and Canada for additional tariffs since winning the election
Economists have warned tariffs on top U.S. trade partners would raise prices on U.S. consumers, but Trump’s treasury secretary nominee signaled support for his plans.
In a Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday, Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oreg.) blasted blanket tariffs, arguing U.S. small businesses and workers would get clobbered with additional taxes.
‘They’re going to be paid for by our workers and small businesses. All through the campaign, we hear they weren’t, foreign countries were going to pay it,’ Wyden said. ‘I think that’s baloney!’
But Trump’s pick to lead the Treasury Department rejected that the tariffs would end up being a consumption tax on Americans already dealing with higher prices.
‘If we were to say, use the number that has been thrown around in the press of 10 percent, then traditionally, the currency appreciates by 4 percent, so the 10 percent is not passed through,’ Bessent claimed. ‘Then we have various elasticities.’
Wyden fired back that that Bessent had a very ‘academic view’ and history has shown it ‘clobbers people of modest means.’
Trump also wrote in a social media post that he would launch an ‘External Revenue Service’ but creating an agency to handle revenue collections from tariffs would require an act of Congress.
The U.S. also already has the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency, which is tasked with facilitating trade and collecting import duties.
