Ohioans wary of tariffs’ effect on prices
WASHINGTON — A new poll suggests that Ohio voters do not support tariffs on imports if those duties lead to higher prices for consumer goods such as cars, trucks and washing machines.
The poll released Thursday by Quinnipiac University shows that Ohio voters oppose the tariffs imposed last month by President Donald Trump on imports of steel and aluminum from Canada, Mexico and the European Union.
By 45 percent to 35 percent, Ohio voters oppose the new tariffs of 25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum imports. That opposition rises to 57 percent if steel and aluminum tariffs lead to higher consumer prices.
The poll also shows that although 55 percent of Ohio voters favor higher tariffs on goods imported from China, support drops to 46 percent if the duties lead to higher consumer prices.
The poll dents a longheld political belief that people in Ohio are eager to see protectionist policies adopted because they believe free-trade agreements have cost the state thousands of manufacturing jobs.
“Despite Ohio’s reputation as a blue-collar bastion, Buckeye State voters overall are not supportive of increasing tariffs on steel and aluminum imported into the United States from foreign lands,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac Poll, in a news release.
“Ohio voters are more supportive of raising tariffs on goods from China until they consider the cost to them and the possibility that raising tariffs could lead to a trade war.”
Trump carried Ohio in the 2016 election after vowing to get tough on trade with China, pledging to scrap a proposed trade pact with 11 other Pacific-rim countries and denouncing the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada.
Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, has long been a critic of NAFTA and other international trade agreements and has approved of Trump’s tougher stance against China even though Brown opposed imposing the steel and aluminum duties on Canada.
A broad range of economists warn that although higher tariffs might help the U.S. steel industry, they would deliver a major blow to automakers and other manufacturers that would have to pay more for steel and then would pass those costs on to consumers.
In addition, Ohio is a major exporting state whose largest trading partners are Canada, Mexico and China. Last year, Ohio companies and farmers exported $50 billion worth of goods to the rest of the world.
The poll of 1,082 Ohio voters was conducted by landline telephones and cellphones from June 7 through Tuesday. The poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.
The results also suggest that Republican officeholders are at odds with Ohio voters on taxes, immigration and Obamacare.
According to the poll, 76 percent of Ohio voters favor allowing undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children to remain, while 51 percent of voters want to retain the 2010 Affordable Care Act, with 44 percent favoring its repeal.
The polls shows that 43 percent of voters approve of the 10-year, $1.5 trillion tax cut signed last year by Trump, while 44 percent oppose it.