New US tariffs set at 10% have come into effect, days after the country’s Supreme Court blocked the bulk of President Donald Trump’s sweeping import taxes. The shock move came as a major blow to the president’s determination to rebalance US trade and bring manufacturing back home.
For more than 30 years, the United States has been importing substantially more goods and services from the rest of the world than it exports.
In many ways, this trade deficit is a good problem to have. US citizens are among the richest in the world. Every time citizens or governments buy more than they sell, someone must pay the difference. In the US, this deficit is financed by foreign investments and public debt. The US owes the rest of the world US$27.61 trillion (£20.5 trillion) more than it is owed back, a unique position.
