From the EU: "In 2023, the US collected approximately €7 billion of tariffs on EU exports, and the EU collected approximately €3 billion on US exports." That does not indicate that the US needs to increase tariffs to balance trade. Also "EU-US goods and services trade is balanced: the difference between EU exports to the US and US exports to the EU stood at €48 billion in 2023; the equivalent of just 3% of the total trade between the EU and the US (€1.6 trillion in 2023)."
Klaus Hergersheimer
Emperor
We could try smuggling in stuff, get around those tariffs 
Hygro
soundcloud.com/hygro/
tariffs affect competition and monopoly differently. If a monopoly is tariffed, the buyers pay 100% of the immediate cost and total output declines to meet available demand. In a perfectly competitive industry, tariffed competitors are effectively slain in the tariffing country and the remaining
It gets real world complicated with growth rates, money in the macro economy, and whose input costs affect whom.
In the short run consumers and producers pay higher prices and there’s less production and total aggregate wealth to be had. In the country with the tariffs especially.
It’s a good long term strategy for an economy that has a shot at mass-exporting a certain good that it can’t yet produce competitively, but could. It requires that has enough leverage to pull it off without retaliation or exclusion.
It is a terrible plan to maintain a reserve currency. They have to get our money to “reserve” one way or another and their exports for our promises is awesome for us.
It gets real world complicated with growth rates, money in the macro economy, and whose input costs affect whom.
In the short run consumers and producers pay higher prices and there’s less production and total aggregate wealth to be had. In the country with the tariffs especially.
It’s a good long term strategy for an economy that has a shot at mass-exporting a certain good that it can’t yet produce competitively, but could. It requires that has enough leverage to pull it off without retaliation or exclusion.
It is a terrible plan to maintain a reserve currency. They have to get our money to “reserve” one way or another and their exports for our promises is awesome for us.
Klaus Hergersheimer
Emperor
ugh *rubs face*Who exactly put the tariffs idea in Trump's head?
I know he didn't come up with it himself.
it's Peter Navarro, who's been around since Trump's first term. And that I know of the only educated "economist" he really keeps around. (but don't quote me).
He's an economic protectionist, and I'll just leave it at that. You can probably guess the rest for yourself.
Moriarte
Immortal
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Balanced trade (Trump Edition) is not achieved by sum total of collected tariffs, but by equality of aggregate/specific tariff rates faced by businesses in each country. Of course USA collects more - it is a bigger economy. By your logic of "balance" Burkina Faso would need to collect the exact same amount of dollar equivalent to achieve balanced trade with USA, even though Burkina Faso is 100 times smaller economically. In Trump's mind this whole thing is not be about the exact Dollar-denominated balance of imports and exports. It's about having an equal opportunity of entry of a foreign business, no matter small or large.
We can spin the philosophies back and forth, but the point hidden in plain sight is about getting access to closed markets and competing there for profit. This point lies at the bottom of it and Trump administration is crafting justification for bringing down some aggregate rates, or specific rates. We haven't heard about it yet, but India has a problem. India runs 150% tariff on liquor and 124% tariff on cars. A country with 1.4 billion population closed itself off entirely from American cars and Kentucky bourbon. Also, when we take average figures from the WTO source in the OP, India tariffs 6.2% on average, while USA reciprocates at 2.4%.
In the end it's about finding new revenue sources, while finding justification for removing protective measures. Sometimes by extortion, other times by bribery or the promise of riches to come. Our world is only getting smaller in terms of marginal rent that can be collected.
I am no economist, but I do not get your point. From the facts that:
- The EU buys from the US about the same value of stuff as the US buys from the EU (within 3%, €1.6 trillion)
- On those purchases the US charges €7 billion in tax (~0.44%), and the EU €3 billion (~0.19%)
That means the US is charging a higher total rate of tax. Sure, there may be some "finding new revenue sources" or "finding justification" or whatever going on under the covers, but that does not change the fact that the US is charging a higher rate of tax on the stuff the US is buying from Europe than Europe is charging on the stuff it buys from the US.
