Don C. Brunell: Trade war could hit Washington hard

Any trade war between the United States and China is worrisome, but if it escalated and tariffs are imposed, it will hit Washington particularly hard. Avoiding that possibility should be our primary goal.

Our state is our nation’s third largest exporter with more than half of the containers leaving the Puget Sound heading to China. The Port of Seattle estimated that China trade alone accounted for $18 billion last year and 40 percent of our state’s jobs are now tied to trade.

President Trump has proposed tariffs as a bargaining chip to get a better deal for American exporters and to punish the...