About Tariffs Proposed for "Liberation Day"

in LeoFinance • 26 days ago


About Tariffs Proposed for "Liberation Day"

Financial markets panicked regarding tariff announcement Trump made on "Liberation Day"; here's a few words about them.

Cover image was made using Microsoft Excel 2007 and edited using MS Paint.

Table data came from the online edition of The Daily Mail, which itself came from The White House.

TL;DR

  • Introduction
  • Non-Monetary Tariffs
  • One Quick Note
  • Baseline Global Tariff
    • Observations
  • Mild Tariffs
    • Observations
  • "The Troublemakers"
    • Observations
  • Left Unsaid
  • On the Bright Side...
  • Just My Two Sats

Introduction

According to US President Donald Trump, Wednesday 2025-April-02 was "Liberation Day" when he officially declared global reciprocal tariffs on all trading partners. All trading partners start at 10%. Due to non-monetary tariffs-- requirements put in place to act as barriers to trade-- additional tariffs are placed on those trading partners notorious for using them. Chief among those trading partners is China and the European Union.

Besides China and the EU, how many trading partners are considered troublemakers? Which trading partners are at least reasonable in their use of tariffs on US imports? Are there any surprises on the list President Trump revealed to the world on "Liberation Day"?

Keep reading to find out which trading partners receive which tariff rates.

Non-Monetary Tariffs

Non-monetary tariffs are barriers to trade. Even if tariff rates are set to 0%, these barriers have the effect of a monetary tariff. Non-monetary tariffs can take various forms, including regulatory compliance, value-added taxes, sales taxes, sourcing requirements, and whatever else makes it difficult for one trading partner to sell good into the target market.

One Quick Note
The term "trading partners" is used to reflect the fact that trade with the US is done not only with nations such as China and Chile but also with regions such as British Indian Ocean Territory and Micronesia as well as with economic blocs such as the European Union.

185 trading partners were listed on those famous poster boards used by President Trump on "Liberation Day" on April 2nd. These nations can be split into 3 groups: baseline global tariff, mild tariff, and "the troublemakers". Below is a short discussion of these 3 tariff groups.

Baseline Global Tariff

(Source for data: 🕸️Daily Mail🕸️)

115 trading partners or were charging the United States a 10% for its goods while the United States charged either 0% or a small percentage. On the so-called "Liberation Day," official US policy became global and reciprocal tariffs starting at 10%. For these 115 nations, the US will charge truly reciprocal tariffs of 10%:

  1. Albania
  2. Andorra
  3. Anguilla
  4. Antigua and Barbuda
  5. Argentina
  6. Armenia
  7. Aruba
  8. Australia
  9. Azerbaijan
  10. Bahamas
  11. Bahrain
  12. Barbados
  13. Belize
  14. Benin
  15. Bermuda
  16. Bhutan
  17. Brazil
  18. British Indian Ocean Territory
  19. British Virgin Islands
  20. Burundi
  21. Cabo Verde
  22. Cayman Islands
  23. Central African Republic
  24. Chile
  25. Christmas Island
  26. Cocos (Keling) Islands
  27. Colombia
  28. Comoros
  29. Cook Islands
  30. Curaçao
  31. Djibouti
  32. Dominica
  33. Dominican Republic
  34. Egypt
  35. El Salvador
  36. Eritrea
  37. Eswatini
  38. Ethiopia
  39. French Guiana
  40. French Polynesia
  41. Gabon
  42. Gambia
  43. Georgia
  44. Gibraltar
  45. Grenada
  46. Guadeloupe
  47. Guatemala
  48. Guinea-Bissau
  49. Guinea
  50. Haiti
  51. Heard and Mcdonald Islands
  52. Honduras
  53. Iceland
  54. Iran
  55. Kenya
  56. Kiribati
  57. Kosovo
  58. Kuwait
  59. Kyrgyzstan
  60. Jamaica
  61. Lebanon
  62. Maldives
  63. Mali
  64. Marshall Islands
  65. Martinique
  66. Mauritania
  67. Liberia
  68. Mayotte
  69. Micronesia
  70. Monaco
  71. Mongolia
  72. Montenegro
  73. Monteserrat
  74. Morocco
  75. Nepal
  76. Niger
  77. Oman
  78. Panama
  79. Paraguay
  80. Peru
  81. Qatar
  82. Republic of the Congo
  83. Rwanda
  84. Saint Kitts and Nevis
  85. Saint Lucia
  86. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  87. Samoa
  88. San Marino
  89. São Tomé and Príncipe
  90. Saudi Arabia
  91. Senegal
  92. Sierra Leone
  93. Singapore
  94. Sint Marten
  95. Solomon Islands
  96. South Sudan
  97. Sudan
  98. Suriname
  99. Svalbard and Jan Mayen
  100. Tajikistan
  101. Tanzania
  102. Timor-Leste
  103. Togo
  104. Tokelau
  105. Tonga
  106. Turkey
  107. Turkmenistan
  108. Turks and Caicos Islands
  109. Tuvalu
  110. Ukraine
  111. United Arab Emirates
  112. United Kingdom
  113. Uruguay
  114. Uzbekistan
  115. Yemen

Observations

  • Brazil is the only founding member of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) with baseline global tariffs on US imports.

  • 4 out 5 members of the "+" in BRICS+-- Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and United Arab Emirates-- have mild tariffs on US imports. (The 5th "+" in BRICS+, Indonesia, charges a 64% tariff on US imports while the US raised its tariff on imports from Indonesia to 32%.)

  • Iran still trades with the US? Was this only during the administrations of President Obama and President Biden? Or has Iran been trading with the US as far back as the 1980s when Ronald Reagan was president?

  • Despite bombing US ships in the Red Sea as a show of solidarity with Hamas in its conflict with Israel, Yemen charges a baseline tariff on US imports.

Mild Tariffs

For 10 trading partners, the US will charge the baseline global tariff of 10% on their imports even though the trading partners charge anywhere from 12% to 49% on imports from the US. Exclude the one trading partner charging 49% on its imports from the US, and the rates range from 12% to 20%. These are the 10 trading partners charging mild tariffs:

(Source for data: 🕸️Daily Mail🕸️)

CountTrading PartnerNew US TariffTariff on US Imports
1.Afghanistan10%49%
2.Bolivia10%20%
3.Costa Rica10%17%
4.Ecuador10%12%
5.Ghana10%17%
6.New Zealand10%20%
7.Papua New Guinea10%15%
8.Saint Helena10%15%
9.Uganda10%20%
10.Trinidad and Tobago10%12%

Observations

  • Ecuador and the multi-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago charge "only" a 12% tariff on US imports.

  • The US will add a 10% tariff on imports from Bolivia, New Zealand, and Uganda; this is half of the 20% those trading partners add to US imports.

  • For all the money the US poured into Afghanistan since 2002, Afghanistan was allowed to charge a 49% tariff on US imports. This is the most surprising observation regarding this small group of trading partners

"The Troublemakers"

There may be a better description for the trading partners in this group, but the heading for this section reflects the complaints we've ben hearing from Donald Trump since the 1980s, and definitely since June 2015 when he declared his candidacy for president.

Even though we were told that the US tariff policy as of "Liberation Day"-- 2025-April-02-- was going to be reciprocal tariffs, for these 60 trading partners it's more like "half-reciprocal": Whatever the tariff was, the US raised its tariff rate to "only" half.

The baseline global tariff rate the US is placing on imports is supposed to be 10%. However, in the case of "The Troublemakers," that rate isn't enough to compensate for what Peter Navarro, Senior Counselor to the President for Trade and Manufacturing, explains as 🕸️non-monetary tarrifs🕸️. Using Vietnam as an example, Navarro says that it wouldn't be enough for Vietnam to drop its tariff rate to 0% because it also adds numerous non-monetary tariffs.

With this in mind, below is a table of 60 trading partners classed as "The Troublemakers":

(Source for data: 🕸️Daily Mail🕸️)

CountTrading PartnerNew US TariffTariff on US Imports
1.Algeria30%59%
2.Angola32%63%
3.Bangladesh37%74%
4.Bosnia and Herzegovina35%70%
5.Botswana37%74%
6.Brunei24%47%
7.Cambodia49%97%
8.Cameroon11%22%
9.Chad13%26%
10.China34%67%
11.Côte d’Ivoire21%41%
12.Democratic Republic of the Congo11%22%
13.Equatorial Guinea13%25%
14.European Union20%39%
15.Falkland Islands41%82%
16.Fiji32%63%
17.Guyana38%76%
18.India26%52%
19.Indonesia32%64%
20.Iraq39%78%
21.Israel17%33%
22.Japan24%46%
23.Jordan20%40%
24.Kazakhstan27%54%
25.Laos48%95%
26.Lesotho50%99%
27.Libya31%61%
28.Liechtenstein37%73%
29.Madagascar47%93%
30.Malawi17%34%
31.Malaysia24%47%
32.Mauritius40%80%
33.Moldova31%61%
34.Mozambique16%31%
35.Myanmar (Burma)44%88%
36.Namibia21%42%
37.Nauru30%59%
38.Nicaragua18%36%
39.Nigeria14%27%
40.Norfolk Island29%58%
41.North Macedonia33%65%
42.Norway15%30%
43.Pakistan29%58%
44.Philippines17%34%
45.Réunion37%73%
46.Saint Pierre and Miquelon50%99%
47.Serbia37%74%
48.South Africa30%60%
49.South Korea25%50%
50.Sri Lanka44%88%
51.Switzerland31%61%
52.Syria41%81%
53.Taiwan32%64%
54.Thailand36%72%
55.Tunisia28%55%
56.Vanuatu22%44%
57.Venezuela15%29%
58.Vietnam46%90%
59.Zambia17%33%
60.Zimbabwe18%35%

Observations

  • 3 of 5 BRICS nations are considered "Troublemakers": India with 52% tariffs on US imports, China with 67% tariffs, and South Africa with 60% tariffs. Those were the rates as of 2025-April-02.

  • Taiwan, considered by many to be an ally of the US in its adversarial relationship with China, charges a 64% tariff on US imports.

  • The European Union charges 39% tariffs on US imports.

  • Israel, one of the fiercest allies of the United States, had placed 33% tariffs on US imports.

  • Liechtenstein imposed 73% tariffs on US imports. Its larger neighbor, Switzerland, placed tariffs of "only" 61% on US imports.

  • Lesotho, an independent nation contained within the borders of South Africa, places a 99% tariff on US imports. As recently as 2024 it was still receiving US funds from the agency known as USAID.

Not on the List

A few nations didn't appear on the "Liberation Day" list of nations getting reciprocal tariffs:

  • Canada and Mexico are in a club all their own since new tariffs were put on them in February 2025.

  • According to the 🕸️German Marshall Fund🕸️, these nations aren't on the list due to existing sanctions: Belarus (for supporting Russia in its conflict with Ukraine), Cuba (for US sanctions going back to President John F. Kennedy), North Korea, and Russia (for starting its "special military operation" in Ukraine on 2022-February-24).

  • For whatever reason, these nations were missing from the list: Burkina Faso, Palau, the Seychelles, Somalia, and Vatican City.

Left Unsaid

The tariffs presented in those poster boards on "Liberation Day" feature overall tariffs. There are also different tariffs for specific goods such as rice or sugar or steel. Even if a trading partner added a 10% tariff on imports by default, if the good falls into a specific category, that tariff can easily be far higher (even exceeding 100%). Of course, in this case, the tariff in the opposite direction will be a reciprocal tariff. These specific tariffs can be negotiated away, but both trading partners need to be sure both get what they want.

On the Bright Side...

  • Stocks are on sale! Stocks which were out of reach for most people on April 1st may be in sight for them as additions to their portfolios. Even fractional shares can be larger than usual.

  • Cryptocurrency is on sale! If you haven't done it already, stack those Sats! Fill those bags full of HIVE, LEO, and DASH! Become a member of the 1 BNB Club or even the 1 ETH Club. Convert more fiat currency to HBD and other stablecoins.

  • These tariffs are temporary. While President Trump isn't afraid of imposing tariffs on trading partners, what he really loves to use is the threat of tariffs. As soon as his negotiations achieve the results he wants, the threatened tariffs never get implemented or the recently implemented tariffs get lifted. More importantly, unless Congress passes tariff legislation which the president signs into law, these "Liberation Day" tariffs disappear no later than the moment when POTUS 48-- a Democrat, or an Independent, or maybe even another Republican-- is inaugurated at 12:01pm on 2029-January-20.

  • If the "Liberation Day" tariffs work as advertised, fortunes are waiting to be made by those with patience and insight. This is a big "if" and definitely not given. This is a big-time example of the saying "high risk, high reward."

Just My Two Sats

We keep getting told that "free trade" is a good thing on the global level, yet most nations of the world impose tariffs on their trading partners.

If the tariffs were equal for both trading partners, that's not a concern. If the tariffs were unequal but near each other, the trading partners can deal with that. But when one trading partner charges a low tariff or even a 0% tariff but the other trading partner charges an outrageous tariff-- 50%, 75%, 99%, even 110+%-- that's a problem. Multiply that by the number of trading partners charging those outrageous tariffs, and it's just a matter of time before the afflicted trading partner says "Enough."

At least one person believed it was time for his nation to say "Enough" to the nation's trading partners who were acting like, well, "troublemakers"; this person just happened to be inaugurated President of the United States. Twice.

The big surprise isn't that "Liberation Day" became a reality (especially since the previous day was, ironically, April Fools' Day). Instead, the big surprise is that markets and trading partners were not prepared for this day, especially since Donald Trump-- in and out of politics-- had been promising this for years.

"Liberation Day" can bring about a new economic boom, or it can bring about the demise of the federal government and the nation along with it. This is the riskiest of "high risk, high reward" moves made in my lifetime, and I grew up during an era when thermonuclear war was a distinct possibility. However, if it works out well for all sides and we get "high reward" from "Liberation Day," that's as good or better than 1 BTC reaching USD 1M or some memecoin going 10,000x.

If Donald Trump as POTUS 45 was known for MAGA, then Donald Trump as POTUS 47-- still known for MAGA-- is now known for ►FAFO◄[1]. We've seen FAFO put into practice regarding border security. We're seeing FAFO being applied via the DOGE under direction of Elon Musk. When it comes to trade policy, President Trump is "All FAFO, All the Time."

Posted Using INLEO

  1. FAFO is an abbreviation meaning "Fuck around and find out." It was coined by (of all people) Elon Musk in 2022 at the time he threatened Kanye West with suspension or ban from Twitter due to his out-of-bounds tweets. ↩

#tariffs #liberation-day #Donald-Trump #Peter-Navarro #Elon-Musk #FAFO #gems #cent
26 days ago in LeoFinance by
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     20 days ago  

    It is funny how Trump complain about "non-monetary tariffs" when USA practically invented that things. This insane tariffs is just the first step in the way the USA will completly lose their finance domination. Many of that reciprocal tariffs doesn't exists, is just the percentage of the trade deficit between two countries. That is something completly normal and doesn't count the services imbalance. If USA count the services trade and not only the products they are in superavit with the whole world.

    Let's see what happend, innthe long term I believe Trump is setting the path to USA stop being the 1st superpower.

    !BBH

    [-]
     20 days ago  

    It's true that the US imposes non-monetary tariffs on its trading partners as well. All nations do this, and it's actually expected.

    What isn't expected is to have them so out of whack that it's a problem for one trading partner. When it's aa problem for one trading partner, that means it's a problem for both trading partners.

    The US may already be on the path to losing its status as a superpower, but that's been the case since at least 2001. The most lethal blow to the US will be USD losing its status as the world reserve currency, and that's been decades in the making. Part of it may be trade policies of all sorts, and one result of that is the de-dollarization taking place by many nations, at least 2 of which are major members of the group of nations known as BRICS.

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       26 days ago  

      "The U.S. 'Liberation Day' policy, imposing equal reciprocal tariffs on trade partners, marks a major shift in global trade dynamics."

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