If you listen to the “New Right” (or the progressive Left), you’d think that trade is one of the most important issues facing the nation. Those of us who still believe that voluntary transactions typically make both parties better off — whether between individuals and businesses in the same nation, or in different nations — are scolded for our stubborn refusal to “learn the lessons of the Trump era.”
Well. A newly released national survey from the Cato Institute of 2,000 Americans conducted by YouGov finds the following:
Trade issues are unlikely to be a top priority for voters this year. Only 1% of surveyed Americans said that globalization and international trade was a top-three issue for them, the lowest for any issue asked about on the survey. Instead, far more cared about inflation (40%), health care (30%), jobs and the economy (28%), immigration (27%) and climate change (21%). This pattern holds for registered voters as well, with only 1% who identified trade as a top-three issue.
Two-thirds (66%) of Americans say global trade is good for the US economy, and 58% say it has helped raise their standard of living. This may help explain why 63% of the public favors the United States increasing trade with other nations.
Three-fourths (75%) are concerned about tariffs raising the prices of products they buy at the store. Indeed, two-thirds (66%) of Americans would oppose paying even $10 more for a pair of blue jeans due to tariffs, even if they are intended to help US blue jean manufacturing.