USA: Biden deals against Trump – whose economic policy is a “catastrophe”

Outgoing US President Joe Biden has warned of the consequences of his successor Donald Trump’s economic policies and described them as a “catastrophe”. Trump’s announcement of high tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada and China was “a big mistake,” Biden said on Tuesday at an event hosted by the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington.

US consumers would pay the price, said the outgoing president and called on Trump to drop his tariff plans. The right-wing populist won the presidential election on November 5th against Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and will succeed Biden and begin his second term in the White House on January 20th.

At the end of November, Trump announced that on his first day in office, he would impose a 25 per cent tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and order an additional 10 per cent surcharge on goods from China. He linked this to the demand on the three important trading partners to stop drug smuggling and illegal migration to the USA.

Experts: Consumer prices are likely to increase due to tariffs

Experts expect that consumer prices in the USA will increase as a result of such a tariff policy. High consumer prices were a major campaign issue and were blamed on the Biden administration. However, the US economy has recovered well from the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic and has shown robustness in recent months with low inflation and a stable labor market.

Trump will inherit “the strongest economy in modern history,” Biden said. The USA would be the envy of the whole world. The outgoing president referred, among other things, to the billions in investments in the expansion of renewable energies that were made during his term in office.

“I pray to God that the president-elect rejects Project 2025,” said 82-year-old Biden. “I think it would be an economic disaster for us and for the region.”

“Project 2025” describes the ultra-conservative think tank Heritage Foundation’s plan for a radical restructuring of the government apparatus in Washington following the election victory of a conservative candidate. Former Trump employees were involved in the concept. Trump himself had distanced himself from it several times, but the concept is consistent with his political positions in key points, such as environmental and immigration policy.