President Donald Trump listed numerous countries — and uninhabited islands — that he claimed were ripping of the U.S. when it comes to tariffs to justify his astronomical increases in U.S. tariffs against them. Trump’s announcement of his tariffs sent the stock market into free fall.
However, economics journalist James Surowieck explained on Twitter/X how Trump is falsely claiming a trade deficit — when a foreign nation exports more goods to the U.S. than the US exports to that foreign nation — is the same as a trade tariff (a tax a nation places on goods that it imports).
Just figured out where these fake tariff rates come from. They didn't actually calculate tariff rates + non-tariff barriers, as they say they did. Instead, for every country, they just took our trade deficit with that country and divided it by the country's exports to us.
— James Surowiecki (@JamesSurowiecki) April 2, 2025
So we… https://t.co/PBjF8xmcuv
CNBC was equally alarmed by Trump’s tariffs.
CNBC anchor on Trump’s tariffs: “This… is worse than the worst-case scenario.”
— Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline) April 3, 2025
There was zero reason for these tariffs—we’re not at war, the economy wasn’t struggling, and we had strong trade partners. This is economic sabotage, plain and simple. Folks on the right not to stop… pic.twitter.com/V5Apy0eFo0
Despite the facts being painfully clear, uneducated Trump stooges such as Riley Gaines and Dr Drano continue to confuse trade deficits and trade tariffs. and proudly proclaim their ignorance.
Seems like a win-win to me. Who could possibly oppose this? https://t.co/31WH0fRtNB
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) April 2, 2025
(Sources:The Guardian, Reuters, Twitter/X)