The Trump administration has announced tariffs affecting 60 countries, set to take effect on April 9. These tariffs will peak at 50 percent, in addition to a universal 10 percent tariff starting April 5. The administration claims these are “individualized” tariffs targeting nations with significant trade deficits with the US. However, the calculation method has raised eyebrows. Critics, including economist James Surowiecki, argue that the tariffs are based on a flawed approach. They allege the administration only considered the trade deficit in goods, ignoring services where the US holds a surplus. The method reportedly involved dividing the trade deficit by the country’s exports to the US, rather than calculating actual tariff rates and non-tariff barriers. Some targeted locations, like uninhabited islands with no exports to the US, have puzzled experts. Economists warn these tariffs could lead to significant costs for American businesses and price increases for consumers.
Destiny | Steven Bonnell II
@TheOmniLiberal
·
Apr 2 I think they asked ChatGPT to calculate the tariffs from other countries, which is why the tariffs make absolutely no fucking sense.
They’re simply dividing the trade deficit we have with a country with our imports from that country, or using 10%, whichever is greater.
Yeti
@EarlOfHurl
·
19h Reciprocity right ? fairness, 4D chess.. Instead, it’s a haphazard formula without regard for imposed tariffs.
They spoonfed outrageously false tariff disparities, while G20 avg weighted tariffs imposed on the US are single digits (ex; < 1.8% USA<->CAN incl. bilats)
Math: 5
Tony Potts
@TonyPotts1
·
23h Here’s the most important and incredibly flawed and destructive math formula the Trump admin used to calculate what foreign countries charge us in tariffs.
It is bizarre math by any standard. It incorrectly inflates the tariff percentage in an attempt to make it look, side by
Abhishek Garg
@abhishekg05
·
21h bro this is the biggest country in the world and the tariff formula looks like this
they introduced two variables, ε = 4 and φ = 0.25 so that ε * φ = 1
basically… it cancels out
Ae trump kru portfolio tabah mera
Yaroslav Trofimov
@yarotrof
·
Apr 3 Mysteriously, the sophisticated investigations into currency manipulation and non-trade barriers resulted in US tariff rates calculated using elementary-school math (and economics): goods trade deficit divided by imports. https://wsj.com/livecoverage/trump-tariffs-trade-war-stock-market-04-02-2025/card/math-behind-new-u-s-tariffs-points-to-trade-imbalance-as-key-issue-3rapxIPuS11nib8NSoXW…
@anthonydb
carwrangler
@carwrangler0x
·
Apr 2 Tariffs work You just don’t like it in the short term. The argument against tariffs never comes with a better solution. It comes with status quo.
What’s the status quo? Inflation, Tax, and Theft. Inflation and Tax are different names for theft, same effect. Thats an awful lot
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
