[Salon] Reciprocal Tariffs: a Comment

[Chas Freeman <cwfresidence@gmail.com>]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-13/trump-moves-to-impose-reciprocal-tariffs-but-not-right-away?utm_source=website&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=email

In his statement imposing "reciprocal tariffs" (without acknowledging relevant WTO obligations) President Trump:

1. Singled out Japan and Korea as countries that are taking advantage of the US

2. Announced tariffs on India while standing next to Modi and with the Indian flag behind him.

3. Made it clear that he thinks a VAT and a tariff are the same, which they aren’t. (Most of the world has VAT and seems unlikely to redesign its revenue collection systems to reflect this confusion.)

The markets are holding out hope for April. But the president teased a response to that here:

Q: “As part of the reciprocal tariffs, would you also direct agencies to study the impact they would have on prices in the U.S.?” Trump: “No. There's nothing to study. It's gonna go well…The U.S. is going to become a very very strong economic, economically country.”

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