Both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump would continue to target Chinese products with their tariffs. But where do the similarities start and end?
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00John Maday has worked in the syringe factory for 25 years.
00:05Here we're putting in the bonding agent, the adhesive.
00:10It's basically a UV cure glue.
00:14It's a company he says he's proud to work for.
00:17Retractable Technologies makes safety syringes with retractable needles.
00:21The pandemic, along with millions in federal funding,
00:24catapulted the smaller-scale enterprise into a major supplier
00:28for the U.S. government's COVID vaccination program.
00:31But post-pandemic demand has not been quite as robust.
00:35Now the syringe maker, which has some production at home,
00:38but purchases the majority of its product in China,
00:41is bracing itself for a new dose of pain.
00:45In May, the Biden administration announced tariffs on Chinese imports
00:49to take effect this year.
00:51Some of them, like on steel or electric cars,
00:53are increases on already existing duties.
00:56But some of them are new, like on syringes.
01:00Ahead of the election, presidential rivals Donald Trump and Kamala Harris
01:04appear to have little in common.
01:06Yet the continuation of Trump-era tariffs
01:08and the introduction of new ones in the Biden-Harris administration
01:12could be a sign that whoever occupies the White House next
01:15is likely to continue to wield them.
01:18But economists still expect different approaches from the two.
01:22Trump is talking about anywhere from 10% to 20% tariffs universal
01:27on all products that are coming into the United States.
01:31I haven't seen anything on the Harris side
01:34in terms of universal tariffs on all products.
01:40The tariffs that are being discussed tend to be much more oriented toward China
01:46and much more of the nature of focusing on certain products
01:51that are seen to be heavily subsidized
01:54so that they're creating that unfair competition.
01:58In short, Trump is thinking of broad tariffs for all imports
02:02while Harris is likely to adapt narrow, China-concentrated ones.
02:06But for its part, the syringe-making company's leadership
02:08says they understand why tariffs are in play.
02:11So we're not against tariffs per se. It's a tool.
02:14It's going to hurt us financially, but we're still going to do it.
02:17It's just that it was a destruction,
02:20a further destruction of our ability to bring new products,
02:23to concentrate on other things.
02:25Just slow it down a little bit.
02:27It could do exactly what they want.
02:29Create competition, create jobs,
02:32and give America its independence on syringes,
02:36and every country should have independence on their health care needs
02:39because you never know when your borders are going to get into a situation
02:43where you can't get stuff.
02:45So we're all in favor of that.
02:47Let's just do it right. That's all we're asking.
02:50The company says doing tariffs right would mean allowing them time
02:53until next year to shift the most important parts of their production
02:56back to the U.S.
02:57and letting them compete with bigger players
02:59whose operations are already mostly in the country
03:02and unaffected by tariffs.
03:04But in recognition of the likely reality
03:06under a Trump or Harris administration,
03:08they're not asking for the tariffs to go away.
03:10Those are unlikely to go anywhere,
03:12no matter who is elected.
03:15That's all we're asking.