How were Donald Trump's tariffs calculated?
- The Trump administration's tariff calculations were based on a simple formula involving trade deficits and exports, not on reciprocal measures, as claimed by various economists.
- Economist Mike O'Rourke noted that the policy targets countries with significant trade surpluses, while not using existing tariffs in its calculations.
- The tariff rate for China was calculated at 67%, which Trump halved to 33.64% for a 'reciprocal' tariff, impacting US-China trade relations severely.
- Australian economist John Simon criticized the tariffs, likening them to deceptive pricing tactics and suggesting they do not reflect the true value of trade.
191 Articles
191 Articles
Trump personally chose the 'mocked formula' used to determine tariffs: reporter
President Donald Trump personally selected the formula that the U.S. government will use to determine the percentage of reciprocal tariff to be implemented on a country, territory, or island, according to a Friday report. The Washington Post's Jeff Stein wrote that numerous aides at the National Eco...

Trump tariff formula misrepresents global trade economics, experts say
Spencer Platt/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — When President Donald Trump announced his controversial tariffs on virtually every trading partner in the world, he repeatedly called them “reciprocal” — a response, he said, to those nations that had hit the U.S. with tariffs and hurt the American economy. But Trump’s claim is misleading not only because some of the nations hit with tariffs haven’t levied any against the U.S., but also because the math …
Jim Cramer: Trump tariff numbers 'do not make any sense'
CNBC host Jim Cramer tore into President Trump over the sweeping new tariffs his administration announced this week on nearly all foreign trading partners. “The numbers do not make any sense," Cramer said Thursday during an appearance on CNN. He claimed the president's economic advisors and aides on trade "really screwed up," and constructed the tariffs "in an ill-advised way." "And I was very let down as someone who really, truly believes that …
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