Final Thoughts

National public opinion is divided on the issue of imposing tariffs on products imported from other countries, with 32 percent saying tariffs are generally good for the U.S. and 37 percent saying they are generally bad. Another 32 percent are not sure or say it depends. Most Americans (62 percent) feel that U.S. consumers will bear the brunt of paying for new tariffs on Chinese goods. Just 23 percent say that Chinese producers will bear more of these costs.

Free trade agreements with other countries continue to be more popular than tariffs, with 51 percent saying free trade is generally good for the U.S. and just 14 percent saying these agreements are bad. Another 35 percent are unsure.

Only 24 percent feel it is very likely that U.S. companies will bring the manufacture of these products back to the U.S. as a result of the tariffs, while 35 percent say this is somewhat likely to happen and 33 percent say it is not likely. More than 6-in-10 Americans are either very (34 percent) or somewhat (28 percent) concerned that their local economy will be hurt by a trade war with China.

“Trump’s tariff policy has not won any converts over the past year. And now, most Americans say that they will ultimately foot the bill from a widening trade war with China,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute.

Attitudes revealed by the Monmouth University Poll on Chinese tariffs are mirrored in the steel market, where steel consumers, OEMs and fabricators, breathed a sigh of relief earlier this month when the Trump administration removed the Section 232 tariffs on steel imports from Canada and Mexico. Their belief is that competition from steelmakers to the north and south will help to keep steel prices low and clear the way for passage of the new North American free trade agreement. Despite widespread views favoring free trade, final approval of the new NAFTA by the legislatures in all three countries is not yet assured. Late breaking reports out of Washington indicate that President Trump is now threatening a new 5 percent tariff on Mexican imports, complaining that Mexico has not done enough the stem the flow of asylum seekers from Central America to the United States. Legislators in both the U.S. and Canada continue to air concerns about the language in the pact, which continue to stymie its ratification.

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Tim Triplett, Executive Editor