Tariffs Will Especially Hurt the Developing World
US trade policy will be catastrophic for countries whose economies depend on exports to grow.
About to get more expensive.
Photographer: Manan Vatsyayana/AFP
President Donald Trump is showing America’s trading partners no mercy. If they export a lot to the US, it will tariff them back — by half. The rates are especially steep on many developing countries, with Vietnam, India, Thailand and Bangladesh all well over 20%.
The costs won’t be felt equally. Tariffs aren’t great for the US, but trade is still a relatively small part of its economy (less than 25%), and if there is a corporate tax cut, the costs to US consumers may not be as high as feared. But such high tariffs will be catastrophic for developing countries that depend on exports. The costs could be far worse than cutting foreign aid, including eliminating USAID.