If the U.S. stops trade with China, it could cost 25 Trump-supporting states big time

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had strong words for countries that do business with North Korea on Wednesday.

He told reporters that he has prepared an executive order that would bring sanctions for any country that trades with the hermit kingdom — including China, America’s biggest trading partner, The Hill reported.

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Mnuchin reiterated the possibility of sanctions in a Wednesday interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier.

“We can stop trade with any country that does business with North Korea,” he said.

“You’re saying stopping trade with China?” Baier asked.

“Stopping trade with anybody. Nobody would be off the table,” Mnuchin responded.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Stopping trade with anybody. Nobody would be off the table," Mnuchin responded.

The treasury secretary’s remarks came after the UN Security Council on Monday unanimously agreed to new sanctions on North Korea after the country tested what it said was a hydrogen bomb.

Mnuchin had warned China of “secondary sanctions” if it didn’t follow through with the measures.

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Stopping trade with China would, however, cost big.

The U.S. sent over $115 billion worth of exports to China last year; it also brought in over $462 billion in imports, for a trade deficit of about $347 billion.

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To put that in perspective, U.S. GDP last year was $18.57 trillion last year, according to the World Bank.

Five U.S. states had China as their biggest export destinations, and many more had it as one of their top five destinations.

Many of these states — 25 in total — voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.

This map shows how many states had China as their top, or one of their top export destinations last year:

There’s little doubt of the strong stand that the U.S., and other countries, want to take with North Korea.

But it’s obvious that a decision to cut off trade ties with a major partner like China would come with significant costs, even for states that put Trump in the Oval Office.

Here’s how much exports to China were worth to Trump-supporting states last year:

The following Trump-voting states had China as their top export destinations in 2016 (export amounts in brackets):

• Alaska ($1.182 billion)
• Louisiana ($7.981 billion)
• South Carolina ($6.413 billion)

The following Trump-voting states had China as one of their top five export markets in 2016:

• Alabama ($3.379 billion)
• Arizona ($1.211 billion)
• Arkansas ($274 million)
• Georgia ($2.573 billion)
• Idaho ($620 million)
• Indiana ($1.755 billion)
• Iowa ($490 million)
• Kansas ($746 million)
• Michigan ($3.182 billion)
• Mississippi ($567 million)
• Missouri ($859 million)
• Montana ($103 million)
• Nebraska ($472 million)
• North Carolina ($2.149 billion)
• Ohio ($3.719 billion)
• Pennsylvania ($2.221 billion)
• South Dakota ($65 million)
• Tennessee ($2.194 billion)
• Texas ($10.807 billion)
• Utah ($649 million)
• West Virginia ($464 million)
• Wisconsin ($1.424 billion)

(Export figures came from the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce)

• With files from Reuters