Local time on April 2, US President Donald Trump signed two executive orders related to the so-called "reciprocal tariff" at the White House. Among them, the US "reciprocal tariff" rate for China will reach 34%, the tariff for Vietnam will be as high as 46%, the tariff for Thailand will be 36%, the tariff for Indonesia will be 32%, the tariff for India will be 26%, the tariff for Japan will be 24%, the tariff for South Korea will be 25%, and the tariff for EU countries will rise to 20%.
On April 2, renowned American financial journalist James Surowiecki posted on the social platform "X", analyzing how Trump fabricated the so-called "tariff rates" imposed by other countries on the US as an excuse for imposing excessive tariffs himself.
Surowiecki stated that the actual rates given by the US government for tariffs from other countries were not calculated in the way they claimed, which is "tariff rate + non-tariff barriers." Instead, for each country, the US simply divided its trade deficit with that country by the amount of exports from that country to the US, using this ratio as the so-called "tariff rate" for that country.
Surowiecki gave an example: The US trade deficit with Indonesia is $1.79 billion, and Indonesia's exports to the US are $28 billion. The ratio of these two numbers is what the US claims as Indonesia's 64% tariff rate on the US. Based on this, Trump announced that the US would impose a "preferential" "reciprocal tariff" on Indonesia, which is only half of what Indonesia supposedly charges the US, i.e., 32%.
The so-called "tariff rates" announced by the US for other countries and the so-called "preferential reciprocal tariffs" imposed by the US were also calculated in a similar manner.
"How absurd this is," Surowiecki remarked.
He also said that it is impossible for South Korea, which has a trade agreement with the US, to impose a 50% tariff on US exports as Trump claims, and the EU does not charge the US a 39% tariff.
On April 3, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce made a statement regarding the US announcement of reciprocal tariffs, firmly opposing it and stating that China will resolutely take countermeasures to safeguard its own rights and interests.
The spokesperson said that the US claimed to have been disadvantaged in international trade and raised tariffs on all trading partners under the pretext of "reciprocity." This approach disregarded the balanced results achieved through years of multilateral trade negotiations and ignored the fact that the US had long benefited greatly from international trade. Based on subjective and unilateral assessments, the US derived the so-called "reciprocal tariff," which does not conform to international trade rules, seriously harming the legitimate rights and interests of relevant parties. It is a typical example of unilateral bullying. Many trading partners have already expressed strong dissatisfaction and clear opposition.
The spokesperson stated that history has shown that raising tariffs cannot solve the problems of the US itself; it damages both US interests and global economic development and supply chain stability. A trade war has no winners, and protectionism has no way out. China urges the US to immediately cancel its unilateral tariff measures and resolve differences with trading partners through equal dialogue.
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Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7488917920727253567/
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