US inflation ‘inevitable’ under new China trade war despite Trump’s vow to tame prices

President-elect Donald Trump won the US election partly on campaign pledges to tame inflation – a sore spot for voters over the past three years – but some analysts point to the trade war that he launched on China in his first term as one cause for the higher prices.

Trump had vowed throughout his campaign to lower consumer prices that have risen mostly during President Joe Biden’s term.

The Republican candidate had pledged via Instagram on Monday, in the final hours of his battle for the White House with Vice-President Kamala Harris, that with everyone’s vote “I will end inflation”.

The pledges resonated with voters because prices have shot up noticeably, from petrol pumps to fast food restaurants, analysts said.

“The economy is a top consideration for voters,” said Liang Yan, a professor of economics at Willamette University in the United States.

Exit polls in some swing states indicated voters felt their finances are worse today than four years ago, she noted.