Liberation Day
You’ve been liberated from feeling good about your stock portfolio and meeting your household budget! It’s Liberation Day, can’t you feel it?
Or at least that’s what President Donald Trump wants you to believe. In reality, today is going to be a terrible bloodbath. Globally, markets have tumbled. Domestically, they will probably tank. I hope you didn’t have any big purchases you wanted to make—like, ever—because shopping is over for now.
Yesterday evening, the president imposed universal tariffs that he calls reciprocal, supposedly based on the amount each country tariffs our imports. Vietnamese imports will now be hit with a 46 percent tariff. E.U. goods face a 20 percent one, Japanese goods a 24 percent one, and Chinese imports a 34 percent one—but it’s looking like that’s on top of the previous 20 percent tariff, so it’s 54 percent total. (The White House press secretary has confirmed this.) The baseline 10 percent tariffs go into effect Saturday, and all higher tariffs go into effect April 9. Trump has so far made exceptions for a few categories of product—semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and lumber—but that’s not because he wants them to remain exempt; it’s because he’s still in the process of drafting up his plan for how those goods ought to be taxed. Full list here.
There are roughly 60 countries on this list distributed by the White House that are being hit with reciprocal tariffs. (The others have a 10% baseline tariff.) pic.twitter.com/MxFusLaBF1
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) April 2, 2025
“If you want your tariff rate to be zero, then you build your product right here in America,” said Trump. If he actually wants American manufacturing to be revitalized, it will take a very long time for such factories to be operational. And supply chains are global and interconnected; even American-made cars (previously the target of tariffs) source tons of parts from elsewhere. It will be very hard to fully produce every product right here in America, and it will be very costly, and it will be very painful.
Perhaps the most wild thing about all this is that these rates do not appear to have been grabbed out of thin air. The administration has claimed that they’re discounted versions, proportional to the taxes levied on our imports to each country. But some Twitter sleuths have discovered that…those countries aren’t in fact levying such high rates on us. The first column is not “tariffs charged to the U.S.A.”; it’s the trade deficit divided by imports. A White House official rebuts this…but offers a formula that corroborates this theory. See for yourself.
Holy crap.
Appears the left column isn’t tariff rates at all. It’s simply the trade deficit/imports. It has literally 0 to do with tariff rates of those countries.
So why are they listing it as “tariffs charged”???? https://t.co/v79anX58cd
— AG (@AGHamilton29) April 2, 2025
So for example for South Korea:
Listed tariff rate: 50%
Actual tariff rate 0.79%Imports: 131.5 Billion
Exports: 65.5 Bil
Article from Reason.com
The Reason Magazine website is a go-to destination for libertarians seeking cogent analysis, investigative reporting, and thought-provoking commentary. Championing the principles of individual freedom, limited government, and free markets, the site offers a diverse range of articles, videos, and podcasts that challenge conventional wisdom and advocate for libertarian solutions. Whether you’re interested in politics, culture, or technology, Reason provides a unique lens that prioritizes liberty and rational discourse. It’s an essential resource for those who value critical thinking and nuanced debate in the pursuit of a freer society.
