US experts fear that the presidency under Joe Biden would be a far worse threat to jobs than that when it was with Trump.
Last May 2018, Trump granted Australia exemptions of 25% tariffs on steel and 10% import taxes on aluminum. These numbers are noteworthy because the steel industry in Australia is crucial in creating jobs as it holds more than 100,000 people for the steel industry and 14,500 people for the aluminum sector.
According to the US Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, Joe Biden would less likely do side deals with Australia and its steel industry.
The center was quoted saying, “Biden’s proclivity for collective action on the world stage will leave little room for Australia to seek concessions from broad trade policy on this front, as it has been able to do with Trump tariffs,”
Meanwhile, to keep faith with Democrats, Biden promised that the US would have instead zero emissions by the year 2050, which will place the country in line with United Kingdon, Japan, and South Korea.
The director of trade and investment at the United States Studies Centre, Dr. Stephen Kirchner, also stated that the Australian steel and aluminum exports that were exempted from tariffs during the tenure of Trump as president could be hit hard with the punitive carbon tariffs that Biden is planning to impose due to its said priority of tacking global warming.
Dr. Kirchner said, “The potential for the Biden administration to impose carbon tariffs may threaten Australian aluminum and steel exports to the United States,”
Moreover, Kirchner also added that while Biden is moderate and supports free trade, hard left people like congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez could more likely push him to impose carbon tariffs.
He also said that the Democrats have their way of elevating environmental concerns out of proportion, especially in the context of trade negotiations.
Other than this, the Biden administration is also less likely to support President Trump’s tariff discounts for steel and aluminum imports.
Former Republican trade counsel of the United States Finance Committee, Nasim Fussel, told Reuters, “I’ve been told that if you close your eyes, you might not be able to tell the difference. Biden’s not going to be quick to unravel some of these tariffs.”
Meanwhile, some top economists also state that Biden’s overall plan is better for recovering the remaining jobs that were lost in the pandemic since his goal is to get back on full employment.
Yet, some economists also argue that Trump’s free-enterprise approach is more effective in stimulating the business owners’ spirits.
For instance, Chris Edwards, an economist at the libertarian Cato Institute, thinks that Trump is better for the US economy. He was quoted saying, “Trump will be better from a free-market perspective.”
The blueprints of Trump and Biden on how they will lift the country of the pandemic-induced economic downturn are strikingly different. In contrast, Trump had promised more discounts on taxes and cuts on regulations.
Biden, on the other hand, promised to increase taxes on the wealthy, business, and corporations and use the trillions of dollars generated from this to upgrade the country’s infrastructure to shift to a “clean energy” future, improve education, make housing and child care more affordable, among other proposals.
Just last week, Biden tweeted that on the day of his presidency in January 2021, he would sign an executive order to recommend the United States to the Paris Agreement that concerns climate change.
Today, the Trump Administration officially left the Paris Climate Agreement. And in exactly 77 days, a Biden Administration will rejoin it. https://t.co/L8UJimS6v2
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) November 5, 2020
His tweet reads, “Today, the Trump Administration officially left the Paris Climate Agreement. And in exact aluminum, a Biden Administration will rejoin it,”
Last June 2017, Trump announced his intention to withdraw from the 2015 Paris Agreement, which involves cutting global carbon emissions. This intention to withdraw reversed the executive order that Barack Obama had signed.
This withdrawal was then submitted to the United Nations, and in November 2019, it came into effect while Americans were casting their ballots.
