The GOP front-runner’s tough line on trade could play well in South Carolina and boost his already strong chances for a solid win in the state.

Donald Trump’s candidacy is anchored on the platform “Make America Great Again,” and the candidate is hammering away at unfair trade practices and bad actors. Trump proposed placing a whopping tariff on Chinese imported goods.

South Carolina has a tremendous population of blue-collar workers. Some are skeptical of the booming success as a result of free trade policies after seeing how quickly jobs could be lost at the hands of cheaper labor overseas.

The Palmetto State has lost a great many jobs to foreign competition and textile mills as well. Undoubtedly, trade and the way it impacts South Carolina’s economy will be on the minds of primary voters.

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According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, from 2001 to 2014 over 50,000 blue-collar jobs in the textile industry alone in South Carolina were lost, while manufacturing jobs centered around tire, car, and aerospace production rose by 5,500. The rise in jobs is certainly a welcome addition, but not nearly enough to address the significant job losses incurred by South Carolinians.

South Carolina’s economy took a hard hit. That was especially true for the upstate region, which includes the large cities of Greenville, Spartanburg and Anderson. The upstate is where about 40 percent of South Carolina’s Republican voters reside and where manufacturing is the primary industry.

At the beginning of January, in a meeting with the editorial board of the New York Times, Trump said he wanted the U.S. to impose a massive 45 percent tariff on all Chinese imports.

Textile imports from China are huge. The country was the largest supplier to the United States of textiles and apparel in 2014, with its total share among all nations at about 39 percent, according to the U.S. International Trade Commission.

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A fiery Trump, in a recent interview with Bill O’Reilly of Fox News, defended himself and his tariff proposal. “We’re too dependent on China, we’re too dependent,” said Trump. “You know what people don’t understand in our dealings with China? We have the cards, they don’t have the cards. We have the cards because they need our economy.”

While the Palmetto State ranks first nationwide for the percentage of the population who work for foreign companies as a result of foreign direct investment — many workers realize their jobs are always at risk. Given South Carolina’s history when it comes to the loss of jobs due to global competition, Trump’s tough talk on trade is sure to be turning heads.

Overall, foreign direct investment has brought thousands of jobs to South Carolina and foreign companies have been able to steady the state’s economy. Yet these new jobs haven’t made up for the loss of the textile mills. While South Carolina has benefitted from “insourcing,” it has suffered at the hands of outsourcing.

Voters who have felt the effects of job loss and a bad economy are sure to select a candidate who is ready to get tough on trade. Trump could very well be the beneficiary of that vote when they enter the polls on Saturday.