Trump’s massive ‘reciprocal’ tariffs upend global trade | CNN Business
www.cnn.com
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.

Summary

Donald Trump imposed sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs on dozens of nations, including a 104% levy on Chinese goods, claiming to boost U.S. manufacturing.

These tariffs, calculated by dubious trade deficit formulas, hit major trading partners like the EU, Japan, and South Korea.

Economists warn of rising inflation, recession risks, and potential stagflation. JPMorgan estimates a 60% chance of global recession, while U.S. consumers may face $2,100 in added yearly costs.

Despite retaliation threats, Trump refuses to back down. Businesses and allies express concern over economic damage and trade instability.

  • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
    30·
    24 days ago

    Don’t forget:

    The “math” they said they used includes those two Greek letters

    They have disclosed what those letters are supposed to mean, one is a 4 and the other is .25

    So they just cancel out.

    The issue is when they said where those numbers came from, economists pointed out the .25 should be pretty much 1. They referenced an academic paper but used the wrong number from what they said.

    Since that part is in the denominator, that means all US tarrifs are 4x as high as they should be…

    The highest tarrif if they used the right number would be 14%.

    The admin has been aware of this for at least a day now, they just don’t care it’s wrong

      • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
        13·
        24 days ago

        The whole thing is a shit show…

        Like, they choose those two numbers intentionally so they’d cancel out, and then most likely said the one represents something else because those numbers never really mattered.

        They’re doing backwards math

        They start with the answer they want. And then backfill an equation to make it justify what they wanted and makes it look like it’s not their decision.

        • Z3k3@lemmy.worldEnglish
          5·
          24 days ago

          While making the calculation look complex enough that the unwashed masses won’t question it

    • HamsterRage@lemmy.caEnglish
      11·
      24 days ago

      That number is supposed to be how much of the tariff that the exporter passes through to the importer. Essentially this is a measure of how much the producers lower their profits to lower the price to compensate for the tariffs. In other words how much the producer “pays for” the tariffs.

      This factor is “backwards”, in that it doesn’t represent how much the producer swallows, but how much they pass on to the importer. Trump’s calculations assume that the producer only passes on 25% of the tariff price increase, but the experts say the number should be much closer to 95%.

      I have to idea what “4” means.