The US presidential election campaign should be concluded next week, when the majority of voters go to the polls to choose between former President Donald Trump and Vice-President Kamala Harris as their next president on Tuesday 5th November.
According to polls, the contest is incredibly close, with a poll of polls suggesting Harris has a 49% to 48% lead, while most bookmakers see it differently and have inserted Trump as slight favourite.
China can perhaps be forgiven for having a big interest in the outcome of this election. Trump stated that he would impose a 60% increase in tariffs from China earlier in the campaign, which would likely have a significant impact on the Chinese economy if followed through.
The United States are far and away the biggest trading partner for China, and if it’s Trump that takes up office in January then increased tariffs could theoretically be introduced by Chinese New Year, which could also have a far-reaching impact on ocean freight capacity around the globe.
Of course, a Trump administration may not carry through with threats that were made earlier in the year, or the idea that Trump has also floated to increase tariffs from all countries by between 10 and 20%.
However, Chinese exporters are likely to be keeping a close eye on developments.