A new editorial by the LA Times says California could lose 640,000 jobs if Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump would start trade wars as President. Rhetoric from both candidates is anti-trade, but the LA Times focuses on the steeper opposition by Trump, estimating the cost of Trump fulfilling his campaign promises against trade if elected. Los Angeles would lose an estimated 176,000 jobs alone by 2019, according to data from the Peterson Institute. The date includes campaign pledges of a 45 percent tariff on China and a 35 percent tariff on Mexico. The editorial does say however trade issues have seldom reached the top of the U.S. political agenda. For decades, a consensus in favor of an open U.S.-led trade system held, but the 2016 election has marked a departure from the pattern. The editorial expressed disappointment in the anti-trade talks regarding the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a pending trade deal with billions of dollars for U.S. agriculture.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting news service.