Trump’s massive ‘reciprocal’ tariffs are now in place, upending global trade

Despite rattled financial markets, threats of retaliation and some of President Donald Trump’s biggest supporters encouraging him to back off his signature economic policy, he didn’t give in. His administration piled on heaps of new “reciprocal” tariffs Wednesday on dozens of American allies and adversaries alike, aiming to — as he claims — restore fairness and boost American manufacturing.

Despite rattled financial markets, threats of retaliation and some of President Donald Trump’s biggest supporters encouraging him to back off his signature economic policy, he didn’t give in. His administration piled on heaps of new “reciprocal” tariffs Wednesday on dozens of American allies and adversaries alike, aiming to — as he claims — restore fairness and boost American manufacturing. Goods from China, by far the biggest target, are now subject to at least a 104% tariff. Trump tacked on even higher tariffs than initially announced after Beijing didn’t back off its promise to impose 34% retaliatory tariffs Tuesday. The reciprocal rates, which aren’t exactly reciprocal, were calculated by dividing a country’s trade deficit with the US by its exports to the country and multiplying by 1/2. They range from 11% to a whopping 50%. Barring Mexico and Canada, America’s other top trading partners were hardly spared in this round. The EU was hit with a 20% reciprocal tariff, China at 34%, Japan at 24%, Vietnam at 46% and South Korea at 25%. These new rates come just days after Trump imposed a 10% universal tariff on all countries’ imports, aside from Mexico and Canada. (The 10% rate is not additive for countries on the reciprocal tariff list. For instance, Japan’s tariff rate increased by 14% on Wednesday given the 10% was already levied over the weekend.) “Our country and its taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years. But it is not going to happen anymore,” Trump said last week when announcing the tariffs, the highest the nation has seen in over a century. Hours before the tariff went into effect Tuesday, Trump made similar comments on, adding that other countries, especially China, have “left us for dead, frankly.”