(The Center Square ) – A large majority of Texas voters, 70%, said increasing tariffs would increase prices on every day goods, and 46% said increasing import duties would have long-term negative impacts on the U.S. economy.
“Texans continue to hold negative expectations about the short-term impact of tariffs,” and want the state legislature to prioritize economic issues, the new data from the University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll shows.
When the TPP asked about the impact of increased tariffs on their family’s economic situation, a majority, 53%, said they believe that tariffs will hurt their household.
The findings were released after another report found that Texas is most likely to be impacted by tariffs imposed on Chinese imports.
Texas’ imports from China represented 9% of its total imports, worth $35.7 billion last year and 15% of the state’s GDP, according to an analysis of federal and state data by Investors Observer, The Center Square reported. Even though Mexico is Texas’ top trade partner, “China’s role is crucial in supplying electronics and industrial equipment for the state’s booming energy and technology sectors, making it vulnerable to price shocks and supply delays from tariff changes,” the report found.
“Tariff risks are concentrated in states with major ports or manufacturing sectors” like Texas, where residents are more likely to experience “supply chain shocks due to their high import volumes and economic dependence on Chinese goods,” it said.
The Texas Politics Project also asked voters to again weigh in on a range of economic topics they want the state legislature to prioritize. More than 70% of Texas voters polled prioritized six policy goals as “extremely” or “very important” for the Texas Legislature to accomplish during the current legislative session.
“Allowing that Texans’ comparatively high residential property taxes affect many voters’ household finances and that cost is a dimension of healthcare access, four of the six policy areas deemed most important by Texas voters tap into concerns about prices, with the other two most highly prioritized areas focused on infrastructure,” it found.
The largest majority, 82%, said improving the reliability of the state’s energy grid was a top priority; 79%, said they want the state legislature to improve the reliability of Texas’ water supply; 77% said lowering the cost of everyday goods and services was a top concern.
Another majority, 75%, said they want the state legislature to prioritize reducing property taxes after the legislature failed to do so in the last legislative session while claiming it did, The Center Square reported.
Other majorities, 73%, want the legislature to Increase access to healthcare; 72% want it to lower housing costs.
According to the poll, Gov. Greg Abbott has the highest approval rating of the state’s top three Republican leaders of 44%. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s approval rating was at 36%; House Speaker Dustin Burrows’ was at 20% last month.
Only Abbott’s disapproval rating was lower than his approval rating among the state’s top Republican leaders. Patrick’s approval and disapproval rating were the same; Burrows’ disapproval ratings was six points higher than his approval rating last month.
President Donald Trump’s job approval rating dropped from 52% in February to 47% in April, “likely colored by the collision of continuing economic concerns among Texas voters with the uncertainty being stoked by the Trump administration’s new tariff offensives,” Texas Politics Project said.
More Texas voters polled disapproved of Trump’s handling of the economy (46%) than approved (40%) of it last month, “a stark reversal of opinions compared with his first term,” the poll found.
Despite the drop in his approval rating, “Trump remains a dominant force in Republican political circles, with 89% of Republican voters approving of the job he’s doing, including a majority, 57%, who approve strongly,” the poll found.
