Trump’s Reciprocal Tariffs Will Overturn Trade Policy

February 15, 2025 4:21 am

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is taking a blowtorch to the rules that have governed world trade for decades. The “reciprocal’’ tariffs that he announced Thursday are likely to create chaos for global businesses and conflict with America’s allies and adversaries alike. Pointing to America’s massive trade deficits, Trump charges that the playing field is tilted against U.S. companies. A big reason for that, he and his advisers say, is because other countries usually tax American exports at a higher rate than America taxes theirs. Trump has a fix: He’s raising U.S. tariffs to match what other countries charge. Economists don’t share Trump’s enthusiasm for tariffs. They’re a tax on importers that usually get passed on to consumers.