US election 2020: Trump and Biden both vow to reduce reliance on China, but methods will be ‘night and day’

Both US President Donald Trump and challenger Joe Biden have pledged to restore manufacturing, including by punishing American firms that move jobs abroad

Joe Biden may seek to work with allies to form a coalition to counter China dependency, while Donald Trump would likely go it alone, analysts say

Reading Time:7 minutes

The extent to which global supply chains unravel, and the manner in which they do, will depend in large part on who is in the White House for the next four years – Donald Trump or Joe Biden. Illustration: Perry Tse

Published: 5:49pm, 17 Sep 2020Updated: 7:11am, 17 Oct 2020

As voters in the United States prepare for the presidential election on November 3, the South China Morning Post is exploring the potential ramifications for China. The ninth part in the series looks at how the potential China trade policy of Joe Biden would differ from that of Donald Trump. Read the entire series here.

In his Mexico City office, while the coronavirus pandemic has raged, Samuel Campos’ phone has been ringing off the hook with firms looking to move their manufacturing to Mexico.

“Since the trade deal this year, I think our volume is up around 30 to 40 per cent,” said Campos, managing director at commercial real estate advisory firm Newmark Knight Frank, pointing to the revamped US-Mexico-Canada Agreement that went into effect in July.

The callers used to be mainly European and American, looking to escape China to avoid trade war tariffs or to be closer to their consumer markets. But in recent months, Chinese firms have been calling too – all keen on managing the costs and volatility that come with exporting from China to the US these days.

“These companies need a North American supply chain now because they don’t want to lose their contracts north of the border,” Campos added. And the recently signed trade deal has helped convince them that Mexico is a better launch pad to the US than China is.

This is not a new trend.

SCMP Series

China, America and the US elections

[ 9 of 24 ]