There aren't huge, generalized tariffs on US goods anywhere, and those that do exist are very specific, and only if a certain quota is exceeded.
Canada, under the USMCA that Trump negotiated, has 200% tarriffs in dairy ONLY IF we exceed a specific amount, which we never have. Those tariffs are to protect their small dairy farmers from extinction by US corporate farms. Likewise, the US has similar tariffs to protect specific US industries. The foreign tariffs trump is claiming are incorrect.
The foreign tariff numbers he claims appear to be based on the trade deficit, instead. For example, he claims Bangladesh has a 75% tariff on US goods, when in fact they have a weighted average tariff of around 3% on us, and again, its protect specific industries, and are quota based. He mistakes the 75% trade deficit with a tariff.
Bangladesh can't generally afford to buy US goods, partly because they don't have enough buying power but also because they have a smaller population (1/2 the US population), so they don't import much of them. However, US companies can buy goods from Bangladesh far cheaper than we can make them here, so we import large amounts of their goods. In fact, we import 75% more from Bangladesh than we export to them. Trump mistook that number as a tariff or as a subsidy, neither of which is true. He's taken that number, divided it by 2, and is now charging US importers that percentage (34%) as an import tax (tariff). Those US importers will, of course, add that tax to what you and I will pay. It's a tax on us. It will also reduce the number of items sold, meaning it will slow the economy.
Trump claims Canada is somehow taking advantage of us, but Canada (population 40 million) buys $270 billion from us, while the US (population 340 million) buys $400 billion from them. Considering the population differences, Canada imports almost $7,000 per person from us, but we only import $1100 per person from them. Canada's citizens are doing more for our economy than we are doing for theirs.
You can claim that if we just buy American, we won't pay the tariff. Sure, except that many items aren't available from US manufacturers, and even if they were, they would be more expensive, because American workers have to be paid more than employees in Bangladesh, if for no other reason than it costs more to live here. American workers also believe they should have health insurance and retirements. It's more costly to manufacture here. The same is true if we build manufacturing facilities here to create those goods, except that will be even more costly, because of the cost of building - not to mention the new tariffs on imported lumber, steel, and aluminum, etc.
Everything Trump is doing is erratic, spontaneous, and without a foundation in economics. He is gutting our retirements, destroying our preeminent economic position, and screwing over our closest allies. If he continues on this path, he will leave us alienated and crippled.
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