Half of Americans agree that the U.S. trade relationship with China is “unfair,” a weekly survey from the Economist/YouGov found.
Across the board, 50 percent said the trade relationship between the U.S. and China is “unfair,” compared to 23 percent who believe it is “fair.” Well over a quarter, 27 percent, remain unsure.
There is a general consensus across party lines, as half of Democrats, 50 percent, believe the trade relationship is “unfair,” as do 54 percent of Republicans. A plurality of independents, 46 percent, believe it is unfair as well.
WATCH — President Trump: Joe Biden Let China “Fleece Us” on Trade:
Only 21 percent of Democrats, 22 percent of independents, and 27 percent of Republicans believe the U.S. trade relationship with China is “fair,” while 29 percent of Democrats, 32 percent of independents, and 20 percent of Republicans remain unsure.
It should be noted that a plurality across the board seem to be unsure if the trade relationships with Brazil, India, Vietnam, Russia, and Australia are unfair.
The survey was taken May 8-12, among 1,786 respondents. It has a +/- 3/3 percent margin of error.
It comes on the heels of the Trump administration and China striking a deal, agreeing to a 90-day de-escalation in the trade standoff while formal negotiations remain underway.
In a joint statement released May 12, the U.S. and China both recognized the “importance of their bilateral economic and trade relationship to both countries and the global economy” as well as the “importance of a sustainable, long-term, and mutually beneficial economic and trade relationship.”
WATCH — President Trump: We’re Not Going to Lose $1 Trillion for Privilege of Buying Pencils from China:
As Breitbart News’s economics editor John Carney reported:
Under the terms of the deal, the U.S. will reduce its reciprocal tariff on Chinese imports to 10 percent, down from the 125-percent level imposed during the height of the trade standoff earlier this year. China will match that move by lowering its own tariff on U.S. goods to 10 percent, also from 125 percent. Beijing also agreed to suspend non-tariff countermeasures that had been enacted since early April.
A separate 20-percent tariff the U.S. imposed over China’s role in supplying illicit drug manufacturers with key ingredients for fentanyl will remain in place.
Republican Study Committee (RSC) Chairman Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX), chairman of the largest conservative caucus in the U.S. House, was among those who praised what he described as a “groundbreaking agreement with China,” noting that it “demonstrates he [Trump] is truly the master of the art of the deal.”
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