Majority of Americans do not approve of Trump trade policies: poll

A majority of Americans in a new poll do not approve of President Trump’s trade policies as the White House engages in a multi-front trade war.

About 37 percent of respondents approve of Trump’s handling of trade with other countries, while 43 percent disapprove and 16 percent have no opinion, according to a CNBC All-America Economic Survey published Friday.

{mosads}The poll comes amid a bitter trade dispute between the U.S. and China that was exacerbated after negotiations collapsed earlier this month.

The Trump administration raised tariffs from 10 percent to 25 percent on $200 billion of Chinese imports. Beijing responded by targeting $60 billion worth of U.S. agricultural exports and halting purchases of American soybeans. 

However, only 32 percent of Americans surveyed view China as an economic threat, and 34 percent say they are less likely to buy a product if it has a “Made in China” label, according to the CNBC poll.

“The notion that China is this massive economic monster that the U.S. has to contend with has clearly not permeated the public the way the Trump administration wants it to or thinks it has,” said Jay Campbell, Democratic pollster for the survey with Hart Research Associates.

About 32 percent of respondents approve of Trump’s handling of the relationship with Beijing, while 45 percent disapprove.

Despite the disapproval with Trump’s trade policies, Americans appear optimistic about the economy, with 48 percent of survey respondents approving of his handling of the economy, compared with 43 percent who disapprove.

A majority — 52 percent — also think the job market has improved over the past two years, while a plurality —39 percent — says the housing market in their area has improved and a post-recession record of 47 percent of respondents said they think their wages will rise over the next year.

Trump’s overall approval rating remains largely unchanged from CNBC’s March survey, indicating that the dissatisfaction with his trade policies does not impact Americans’ general view of him. 

The poll surveyed 800 Americans from May 22-26 and has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.

The poll was conducted before Trump on Thursday threatened to slap a 5 percent tariff on all Mexican imports if Mexico City does not do more to prevent illegal border crossings into the U.S.