Playbook: “One of the aspects of Trump’s announcement enraging U.S. trade partners is the simplistic method used to calculate each tariff. This internet sleuth figured out the U.S. tariff rates are based entirely upon America’s trade deficits with individual countries — meaning these are not really ‘reciprocal’ tariffs at all.
”“The approach has taken a fair amount of flack from online economists, though the White House is naturally pushing back”