Trump finding it harder to fool people over trade

It is puzzling why US President Donald Trump’s interpretation of the US trade deficit with China differs starkly from that of almost all economists. His declaration that trade wars are good and easy to win is a clear contradiction to the reality on the ground.

A Quinnipiac University poll released this week may provide some clues. It shows that Trump may be losing support from “uneducated white voters”, referring to those without a college degree.

It is not a crime to not have a college degree, but what Trump has been doing is to cash in on people’s ignorance about trade.

On Wednesday, the US president again glorified his trade policy by tweeting that “Our Country was built on Tariffs, and Tariffs are now leading us to great new Trade Deals…”

This follows his multiple tweets on Aug 5 claiming “Tariffs are working far better than anyone ever anticipated…”, “Tariffs have had a tremendous positive impact on our Steel Industry” and “Because of Tariffs we will be able to start paying down large amounts of the $21 Trillion…”

Trump also said in an Aug 11 tweet that he is “looking forward to dinner tonight

The general consensus among economists and trade experts is that tariff is a tax on consumers. It will drive up the US dollar and hurt US exports.