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Who Are the Winners and Losers of Trump's Trade War With China?

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While we have seen job growth in parts of the manufacturing sector, wages have continued to stagnate and consumer product prices look set to increase.
With the United States–China trade war intensifying, there is a lot of talk about whether tariffs save American jobs—as President Donald Trump claims—or destroy them.
On May 14th, for example, Trump said his tariffs helped save the U. S. steel industry. Whether or not thats true, many economists and industry organizations argue trade protectionism is actually hurting workers in a range of other areas, such as the solar power sector, civil aircraft, and auto manufacturing.
So is the trade war making Americans better off or worse? Political economists like me have been exploring this question since Trumps trade war began about a year ago. The answer makes a big difference to the economic welfare of American workers. And, with the 2020 elections soon approaching, it may help determine whether Trump is able to remain in the Oval Office.
At first glance, the jobs data does look good for Trumps argument.
Since Trump announced tariffs on more than 1,000 Chinese products on April 3rd, 2018, about 2.6 million new jobs have been added to the U. S. economy.
This includes 204,000 jobs in manufacturing, the sector of the economy that hemorrhaged over five million positions from 2000 to 2009, a problem blamed on free trade and China.
The good news for Trump doesnt stop there. Some of the biggest gainers over the last year are industries like fabricated metals, machinery, and electronic instruments, all of which saw gains of 15,000 to almost 30,000 jobs over the past year. All those industries enjoy at least some protection from Trumps tariffs.
Those numbers seem to support Trumps rhetoric that tariffs are providing a vital shot in the arm of Americas ailing manufacturing sector.

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