US President Donald Trump speaks during the event announcing new tariffs at Rose Garden in the White House in Washington, April 2, 2025.
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President Donald Trump He announced an aggressive, far -reaching “Mutual” Tariff Policy Wednesday, leaving many US economists and partners to ask how the White House calculated his rates.
Trump's plan has established a 10% basic tariff for almost every country, although many nations such as China, Vietnam and Taiwan are much more steepness. During the ceremony in Garden Rose on Wednesday Trump upheld the poster board, which outlined the tariffs, which the administration claims that they are “accused” against the USA, as well as the “lower” tariffs, which in response will be implemented by the USA.
These mutual tariffs are mainly about half of what, according to Trump's administration, for example in each country, the poster said that China accuses the tariff of 67% and that the US will implement 34% of the mutual tariff in response.
However, the Cato Institute report stated that the average tariff rates weighted by trade in most countries are much lower than the Trump administration. The report is based on the medium rates of duties, from the World Trade Organization in 2023, available to the last year.
The Cato Institute said that the average tariff rate with trade with China was 3%, not 67%, the administration stated that it was so.
The administration stated that the European Union would accuse the US tariff in the amount of 39%, but the CATO report stated that the average tariff rate weighted by the EU in 2023 was 2.7%.
In another example, the administration said that India put a 52% tariff on the US, but Cato stated that the average tariff rate in India in 2023 was 12%.
Many users on social media this week quickly noticed that Trump's administration seemed to calculate Sharing the sales deficit by import from a given country to arrive according to tariff rates for each of them. This is an amazing approach, because it suggests that the US included a commercial deficit in goods, but ignored the trade of services.
The US Trade Representative Office, in a press release, stated that calculating the combined effects of tariffs, regulatory, tax and other policies in various countries “can be reserved by calculating the level of tariff in accordance with the conduct of bilateral trade deficits to zero.”
“If trade deficits are permanent due to the policy and trial and non -tariff basics, then the tariff degree in accordance with compensation, these principles and grounds are mutual and fair, “Ustr said in a communiqué.
