April 2 marked what President Donald Trump and his administration described as "Liberation Day," or the announcement of sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs on almost every country, ranging from a base rate of 10% to as high as 50%.
Trump claims that the proposed duties were direct responses to “tariffs, non-monetary barriers and other forms of cheating” that other countries have enacted against the United States — per CBS News — but that’s not quite accurate. Instead, the “reciprocal tariffs” are based on the U.S.’s trade deficits with each country.
