President-elect Donald Trump said this on Thursday he is choosing Former Senator David Perdue of Georgia becomes ambassador to China.
Trump said in a social media post that Perdue, a former CEO, “brings valuable expertise to building our relationship with China.”
Perdue pushed Trump’s debunked lies about election fraud during his failed bid to become governor of Georgia. Perdue lost his Senate seat to Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff four years ago ran without success in a primary against Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia.
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Economic tensions will be a big part of the US-China picture for the new administration.
Trump has threatened to impose imposing new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China once he takes office, as part of his efforts to crack down on illegal immigration and drugs. He said he would impose a 25% tax on all products entering the country from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10% tariff on goods from China, as one of his first executive orders.
The Chinese embassy in Washington warned earlier this week that there will be losers on all sides if a trade war breaks out.
“The economic and trade cooperation between China and the US is of mutual benefit,” embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu said on X. “No one will win a trade war or a #tariff war.” He added that China has taken steps to combat drug trafficking in the past year.
It is unclear whether Trump will actually follow through on the threats or whether he will use them as a negotiating tactic.
The rates, if implementedcould dramatically increase prices for American consumers on everything from gasoline to cars to agricultural products. According to the most recent US Census data, the US is the world’s largest importer of goods, with Mexico, China and Canada the top three suppliers.
Trump also filled out more of his immigration team on Thursday as he promises mass deportations and a crackdown on borders.
He said he will appoint former Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott to head U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Scott, a career official, was named head of the border agency in January 2020 and enthusiastically embraced then-President Trump’s policies, particularly on building a U.S.-Mexico border wall. He was forced out by the Biden administration.
Trump also said he would nominate Caleb Vitello as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency that, among other things, arrests migrants in the US illegally. Vitello is a career ICE officer with more than 23 years with the agency and most recently served as assistant director of the Office of Firearms and Tactical Programs.
The president-elect appointed the head of the Border Patrol Union, Brandon Judd, as ambassador to Chile. Judd has been a longtime supporter of Trump, appearing with him during his visits to the U.S.-Mexico border, though he notably supported a Senate run. immigration bill President Biden defended that Trump sank in part because he didn’t want to hand Democrats an election year victory on the issue.
