Harris and Trump Clash Over China Policy in Heated Presidential Debate

Harris or Trump: Does it matter for China who wins the election?

Trump has proposed up to 100% tariffs on Chinese goods and a blanket tariff of 10%-20% on all other imports, while Harris is expected to largely stick with Biden's tariff policy, experts told CNBC. "A Trump victory is highly likely to increase trade and economic hostilities between the U.S. and China, ramping up the trade and financial decoupling between the two countries," said Eswar Prasad, an economics professor at Cornell University. Stronger tariffs by Harris cannot be ruled out either, given Biden not only retained Trump's tariffs, he piled on more. The U.S. in May announced stiff duties on about $18 billion worth of Chinese imports, including electric vehicles, solar cells, lithium batteries, steel and aluminum. During the debate, Harris did not give specifics on her China policy, but said that "a policy about China should be in making sure the United States of America wins the competition for the 21st century." "Which means focusing on the details of what that requires, focusing on relationships with our allies, focusing on investing in American based technology so that we win the race on A.I. and quantum computing," Harris added. "We think that ongoing trade tensions, both with U.S. and Europe, are here to stay. I think in the U.S. it's well understood, the support for more stern actions against China is bipartisan. So it doesn't matter who wins the election," Casanova told CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia." The U.S. has warned about Chinese overcapacity issues, with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reportedly saying in May that China's excess industrial capacity threatened both American and European firms, as well as the industrial development of emerging market countries. In April, Yellen met with Chinese officials to discuss the overcapacity issue and market-oriented reforms, saying in prepared remarks that "A healthy economic relationship must provide a level playing field for firms and workers in both countries." Beijing has been charged with dumping goods as domestic demand cools down, inviting heavy duties on Chinese exports from several countries, besides facing charges of heavily subsidizing industries such as EVs that has drawn tariffs from U.S. as well as European countries. Speaking after the debate, Marko Papic, chief strategist of BCA Research said that "I don't think we really got clarity on anything" after the debate, adding that "it does appear that the market was surprised by her [Harris'] performance at least a little bit. But again, it's not sufficient to force us as investors to start pricing in a dramatic political shift."

Trump 'Sold Us Out' With China Tariff Policy, Says Harris In Heated Presidential Debate

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris sparred over China policy during the presidential debate hosted by ABC News on Tuesday night. What Happened:Harris criticized Trump's tariff policy, labeling it a "Trump sales tax" that would impose a 20% tax on everyday goods, affecting middle-class families. Trump defended his tariff plans, proposing additional duties of 60% to 100% on China, aiming to recoup costs from other countries. Trump claimed his tariffs had generated "billions and billions of dollars" from China. He also noted that the Biden-Harris administration kept most of his tariffs on China, raising tariffs on $18 billion of Chinese goods in May, including semiconductors and electric vehicles. Harris argued that Trump's administration led to a significant trade deficit and "invited trade wars." "Under Donald Trump's presidency, he ended up selling American chips to China to help them improve and modernize their military. [He] basically sold us out when a policy about China should be in making sure the United States of America wins the competition for the 21st century." See Also: Mark Cuban Praises Elon Musk's AI Chatbot Grok For Answering Kamala Harris' POV On Immigration: 'I Think It's Accurate' She emphasized the need for strong alliances and investment in American technology to win the global race in areas like AI and quantum computing. Why It Matters: The debate over China tariffs is not just a policy issue but a significant point of contention in the 2024 presidential race. According to U.S. intelligence officials, foreign powers like Russia, Iran, and China have different stakes in the election outcome. Russia is reportedly attempting to sway voters towards Trump, while Iran favors Harris. China, meanwhile, is more focused on down-ballot races. Trump has hinted at imposing a universal tariff on all goods imported into the U.S. if he returns to the White House. This could significantly impact the $3 trillion worth of goods imported annually. Trump could use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to control economic transactions and phase out imports of essential goods from China over four years. Chinese social media users and former President Trump share a sentiment that Harris has a slim chance of winning the upcoming election. Discussions on platforms like Weibo suggest that Trump's victory is almost certain, especially after a failed assassination attempt on him. Regardless of who wins, both Harris and Trump are likely to continue the strategic decoupling from China. This could lead to Chinese companies outsourcing to Southeast Asia or Mexico to maintain their U.S. market share. Financial Analyst Shain Vernier noted that investors are concerned about extensive tariffs under Trump but expect a more passive approach from Harris. Did You Know? Congress Is Making Huge Investments. Get Tips On What They Bought And Sold Ahead Of The 2024 Election With Our Easy-to-Use Tool Image via Shutterstock This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Pooja Rajkumari Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Trump-Harris debate: VP says ex-prez 'sold us out' on China, blames him for unemployment related to Covid

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are facing off for the first time for the ABC News presidential debate. This is the only debate they have scheduled and comes as polls show a neck-and-neck race. During the debate on Tuesday, September 10, Harris told viewers that the former president "basically sold us out" on China. "A policy about China should be in making sure the United States of America wins the competition for the 21st century, which means focusing on the details of what that requires, focusing on relationships with our allies, focusing on investing in American based technology so that we win the race on AI, on quantum computing, focusing on what we need to do to support America's workforce," the veep added. Harris also blamed Trump for unemployment related to the Covid-19 pandemic. "Let's talk about what Donald Trump left us," Harris said. "Donald Trump left us the worst unemployment since the Great Depression. Donald Trump left us the worst public health epidemic in a century. Donald Trump left us the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War, and what we have done is clean up Donald Trump's mess." Trump said in response that the country "got hit with a pandemic" not seen "since 1917." "We did a phenomenal job with the pandemic," he added. "We handed over a country with an economy and where the stock market was higher than it was before the pandemic came in." During the debate, Trump also dismissed allegations that his suggestion to increase foreign tariffs will bring up consumer prices. "They're not going to have higher prices," he said. "Who's going to have higher prices is China and all of the countries that have been ripping us off for years." Trump also noted that Joe Biden kept Trump's tariffs on China after taking office. "We are going to take in billions of dollars, hundreds of billions of dollars. I had no inflation, virtually no inflation," he said. "They had the highest inflation, perhaps in the history of our country."

"Trump ended up selling American chips to China...": Kamala Harris slams former US President over trade policy

During the presidential debate conducted by ABC News, Harris said that the US' policy with regards to China should be to win the competition for the 21st century, which she stressed means focussing on relationships with allies of the US, focusing on investing in American-based technology. In response to a question on whether Americans can afford higher prices on tariffs, Kamala Harris said, "The Trump administration resulted in a trade deficit, one of the highest we have ever seen in the history of America. He invited trade wars. You want to talk about his deal with China, what he ended up doing under Donald Trump's presidency. He ended up selling American chips to China to help them improve and modernize their military." "Basically, sold us out when a policy about China should be in making sure the United States of America wins the competition for the 21st century, which means focusing on the details of what that requires, focusing on relationships with our allies, focusing on investing in American-based technology so that we win the race on AI, on quantum computing, focusing on what we need to do support America's workforce so that we don't end up having on the short end of the stick in terms of workers rights," she added. Slamming former US President, Harris said that Trump thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping despite knowing that Xi was responsible for lacking and not giving transparency regarding the origins of COVID. "But, what Donald Trump did, let's talk about this with COVID. He actually thanked President Xi for what he did with COVID. Look at his tweet, Thank you Mr Xi! When we know Xi was responsible for lacking and not giving us transparency about the origins of COVID," Harris said. During the presidential debate on the same question, Donald Trump said that people in the US need not to pay higher prices. However, it is China and other nations that would pay higher prices. He also said that Biden administration has continued to charge the tariffs he had placed during his government. Trump said that there was the highest inflation during the Biden administration and termed it the "worst period of time." Trump said, "They're not going to have higher prices. What's going to happen and who's going to have higher prices in China and all of the countries that have been ripping us off for years? I charge, I was the only president ever, China was paying us hundreds of billions of dollars and so were other countries." "And, you know, if she doesn't like them, they should have gone out and they should have immediately cut the tariffs. But those tariffs are there three and a half years now under their administration, we are going to take in billions of dollars, hundreds of billions of dollars. I had no inflation, virtually no inflation. They had the highest inflation perhaps in the history of our country because I have not seen the worst period of time. People can't go out buy cereal, beacon, egg or anything else. The people of our country are dying with what they have done," he added. (ANI)

Trump vs Harris debate: US VP blasts ex-US president for post-Covid 'mess', says Trump 'sold-out' America on China | Today News

Trump vs Harris debate: Kamala Harris criticised Donald Trump for the economic mess due to his government's policy after COVID pandemic, and blamed him for selling out America on China In the first (and only) televised debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, the former accused the ex-US president of "selling out" the country on China. During the ABC News presidential debate, US Vice President Kamala Harris blamed Trump for high unemployment rates during COVID pandemic. She also held him responsible for policies favouring China over America's interest. Trump vs Harris LIVE Updates "A policy about China should be in making sure the United States of America wins the competition for the 21st century, which means focusing on the details of what that requires, focusing on relationships with our allies, focusing on investing in American based technology so that we win the race on AI, on quantum computing, focusing on what we need to do to support America's workforce," said Kamala Harris in the debate.