Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, is right that the U.S. trade deficit has had a negative effect on American jobs, according to Slate.
That’s because the Federal Reserve’s policy of keeping interest rates at record lows and lacking business investment since the 2008 financial crisis aren’t helping to create jobs lost to other countries.
“When T-shirt imports from China put a bunch of American textile factories out of commission, to take just one example, other businesses should emerge to take their place,”
writes Jordan Weissmann, the online magazine’s senior business and economics reporter. “But these are different times. Interest rates have been stuck near zero ever since the Great Recession as the economy has struggled to fully recover.”
While Trump argues that trade tariffs will level the playing field with countries like China and Mexico, Weissman says fixing the U.S. economy should be the main focus for the next president.
“Congress could pass a giant public works bill, for instance, to help the U.S. catch up to its potential output,” he says. “Surely, a stimulus bill would be a simpler task for Washington than rejiggering the entire balance of world trade.”
Trump's call to renegotiate what he sees as unfavorable trade deals has struck a chord with many blue collar voters who traditionally vote for Democrats, and that could be hampering Hillary Clinton's own White House efforts,
The Washington Post reports.
"Some of our members if not support [him] agree with some of Trump's statements," Joe Jacoby, union representative with Boilermakers Local 13 in Pennsauken, N.J., told the Post. "Because they feel like they're being hit hardest. Because their jobs are going away. Because it’s hard to find a good-paying job."
That doesn't mean they'll cast their vote for the presumptive GOP nominee, Jacoby said, noting that he and other union leaders will be sticking with Clinton.
Still, he said, Trump's message will have an impact because "Trade agreements are a big part of what we're arguing against, and he rings that bell."
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