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Trump's trade war with China is still raging - here are the states that could end up getting whacked

Bob Bryan   

Trump's trade war with China is still raging - here are the states that could end up getting whacked
Politics2 min read

trump xi us china shipping containers 2x1

Mark Wilson/Getty; Naohiko Hatta/Getty; Shayanne Gal/Business Insider

  • President Donald Trump is reportedly set to impose tariffs on another $200 billion worth of Chinese goods.
  • The move would be an escalation of the US-China trade war and another step toward Trump's threat to impose tariffs on all Chinese goods entering the US.
  • Tennessee is most at risk from a full-blown trade war, followed by Washington, California, South Carolina, and Kentucky.
  • Check out the impact from a full blown US-China trade war on every state below.

President Donald Trump's trade war with China could be about to go to the next level, and some states should be more worried than others.

Trump is reportedly pushing advisers to impose tariffs on another $200 billion worth of Chinese goods as early as next week. The move would be a major escalation of the US-China trade war and result in roughly half of all Chinese imports to the US being subject to tariffs.

Beijing has threatened to impose tariffs on $60 billion worth of US goods in response, and the moves could be a step to Trump's ultimate threat: tariffs on all goods coming in from China.

Economists say a full-blown trade war, with tariffs on all goods between the two countries, would result in substantial price increases for US businesses and consumers. Such a huge trade war would also drag on US economic growth.

But the pain from the trade fight would not fall equally across the US.

To determine the biggest losers from an all-out trade war with China, we looked at the percent of each state's GDP that was attributable to trade with China.

The biggest loser from a full-blown trade war with China would be Tennessee, as trade with China accounts for 7.6% of the state's total GDP. Following closely behind are four other states where 5% or more of their state GDP comes from Chinese trade:

  • Washington (6.43%)
  • California (6.39%)
  • South Carolina (5.87%)
  • Kentucky (5.39%)

The move also poses a political risk to Trump, since he won 17 of the 24 states where more than 2% of state GDP comes from trade with China. And in high-risk states like California and Washington, many House Republican incumbents are facing hard challenges from Democrats.

trade with china as percent of GDP

Andy Kiersz/Business Insider

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