As President Donald Trump’s trade war with China escalates, data has shown that Alabama is set to be fourth among “America’s biggest trade war losers.”
News broke Monday that China is set to retaliate in-kind against new American tariffs of 25 percent, escalating tensions into a full-blown trade war.
Axios reported last week that only Louisiana, Alaska and South Carolina have more to lose than Alabama when it comes to this trade stand-off, as 1.5 percent of the Yellowhammer State’s GDP is affected by relevant Chinese tariffs.
The biggest American industries at risk are petrochemical-heavy industries like plastics products, along with aircraft and automobile manufacturing and select agricultural fields.
With these industries in mind, it is not hard to see why Alabama has a lot at stake as the two superpowers face off.
Trump has been working to get the upper hand in negotiations so that China will come to the table and agree to the best possible deal for the United States.
Axios has also reported that prior to this escalation by both countries, analysis showed “that U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods are chipping away at the trade deficit with China.”
Yellowhammer News has previously reported on one specific Alabama sector especially affected by U.S.-China trade tensions: the soybean industry.
Trump consistently enjoys some of his highest approval ratings in Alabama. Previous trade tensions with China and other countries that affect Alabama in a major way have done little to nothing in how Trump’s supporters feel about him. This latest development shows no sign of breaking that trend, as Alabamians – and Americans – experience the best economy in the last half-century.
Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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