[Right_Wing_Madman]

It’s clear to me that the Trump team didn’t put a lot of thought into any details of trade policy.

The thing I love most about Trump is that he understands simple solutions work best, long term.

To determine tariff rates, the Trump team devised a simple mathematical formula and applied it across the board to 180 countries.

A normal bureaucracy would have spent 18 months studying the trade history for each country, complete with working groups, position papers, and decision briefs.

[Wayne07]

Then they just should have said that, instead of obfuscating and claiming they were reciprocal when they weren’t . Looks like a clown show when you get caught fudging.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

A normal bureaucracy would have spent 18 months studying the trade history for each country, complete with working groups, position papers, and decision briefs.

Not to mention consulting "stakeholders."

Always have to include them.

[PGR88]

In addition to reciprocal tariffs merely “matching” duties charged on American products, it appears Trump is also respecting the free trade agreements made with about 20 Nations - including Mexico and Canada.

For example, the Trump Administration has already exempted goods from Mexico and Canada that meet USMCA origin criteria. For example, frozen mangoes grown, processed and packed in Mexico are still duty-free into the USA.

Due to complex origin rules (for example automobiles with 1000s of parts) - those products are subject to the 25% penalties imposed for border security, fentanyl, etc...

Because of those exemptions, its expected that a country like Chile, which has a 20 year free-trade agreement with the USA, and allows American products into Chile at 0% duty - will continue to enjoy its duty-free status into the USA.