1/ Are the tariffs President Trump announced last week on China...
Graham Allison@GrahamTAllison
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Apr 16, 2025
~1 min read
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1/ Are the tariffs President Trump announced last week on China more like a solid wall or a slice of Swiss cheese?
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2/ Last Wednesday, President Trump surprised the world by announcing “I am hereby raising the Tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 125%, effective immediately.”
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3/ That announcement failed to note that on March 4 he had imposed the 20% tariff “to address the threat of the sustained influx of synthetic opioids.”
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4/ On Thursday the White House clarified: 145% tariffs on China.
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5/ On Friday, the first hole in the tariff wall: smartphones, which constitute 9% of Chinese exports to the US.
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6/ The second hole—computers—collectively represent 8% of Chinese exports to the US. Between smartphones, computers, semiconductors, and all the other electronics exempted by Trump on Friday, 22% of Chinese exports will see 20% tariffs.
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7/ So, as the world turns and the Swiss cheese holes grow larger, it is worth taking stock of the tariff war picture so far. Out of $440 billion in goods that the US imported from China last year, 145% tariffs are in effect for only $280 billion.
