Analysts: Politically connected companies received more tariff exemptions under Trump

Companies that made political donations to Republican candidates under former President Donald Trump were more likely to be granted exemptions from tariffs applied to Chinese goods, while those that gave to Democrats had significantly lower chances, an economist tells Inside U.S. Trade , previewing forthcoming research. The impact of political contributions was “meaningful,” economists Veljko Fotak, Hye Seung Lee, William Megginson and Jesus Salas write in a study due to be published in the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis,...