WASHINGTON (AP) — After weeks of anticipation and speculation, President Donald Trump followed through on his tariff threats this week by declaring a 10% baseline tax on imports from all countries and higher tariff rates on dozens of nations that run trade surpluses with the United States.
Global markets cratered the day after the announcement and then fell further when China announced it would retaliate with tariffs equal to the ones the U.S. is imposing.
In announcing what he has called reciprocal tariffs, Trump was fulfilling a key campaign promise by raising U.S. taxes on foreign goods to narrow the gap with the tariffs the White House says other countries unfairly impose on U.S. 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 since 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.
The Associated Press asked for your questions about reciprocal tariffs. Here are a few of them, along with our answers: