In a recent post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump defended his stance on tariffs and outlined a list of 8 non-tariff practices that countries resort to.
What Happened: Trump, in a Truth Social post on Sunday, outlined a series of practices he labels as “non-tariff cheating.” This includes currency manipulation, VATs acting as tariffs, export subsidies, and protective agricultural standards, among others. He also pointed out counterfeiting, piracy, and IP theft, which according to him cost over $1 trillion annually.
Trump criticized business leaders who oppose tariffs in another post, stating, “The businessmen who criticize tariffs are bad at business, but really bad at politics.” He further asserted that he is the “greatest friend that American capitalism has ever had.”
Trump also mentioned the proclamation of “LIBERATION DAY,” stating that numerous world leaders and business executives have sought his help for relief from tariffs. He stressed the importance of other countries rectifying the “wrongs of decades of abuse,” and urged businesses to establish themselves in America.
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Why It Matters: Trump's support for tariffs is a key part of his economic policy, which he defends as a way to counter non-tariff barriers (like quotas, safety standards, and licensing rules) that he says unfairly restrict U.S. exports.
However, it has been found that not just other countries but even the U.S. frequently employs a protectionist measure known as the tariff-rate quota (TRQ) on imports. The TRQ functions more like a non-tariff barrier, as it doesn’t directly impose duties.
A 2024 study by the St. Louis Federal Reserve found that non-tariff barriers (NTBs) affect over two-thirds of U.S. imports—ranging from components to finished goods—across 15 manufacturing sectors, as reported by Fortune. The study underscores significant differences between tariffs and NTBs across industries and concludes that NTBs are widespread in all sectors of U.S. imports.
“…these nations charge the U.S. only slightly higher tariffs than the U.S. levies on their exports, and heap on far fewer non-tariff barriers than we do,” stated Fortune’s Shawn Tully. “Trump's best solution would be offering to lower those NTBs that raise prices for American consumers and hobble our productivity in exchange for our trading partners' agreement to lower their restrictions,” added Tully.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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