In announcing what he has called reciprocal tariffs, Trump was fulfilling a key campaign promise by raising US taxes on foreign goods to narrow the gap with the tariffs the White House says other countries unfairly impose on US products.
Trump's higher rates would hit foreign entities that sell more goods to the United States than they buy. But economists don’t share Trump’s enthusiasm for tariffs—notably because they’re a tax on importers that usually get passed on to consumers. It’s possible, however, that the reciprocal tariffs could bring other countries to the table and get them to lower their own import taxes.
