The Trump administration has imposed various tariff rates on countries and imports, using different calculations including a reciprocal tariff formula based on trade deficits that economists say makes no sense and won't solve trade imbalances.

Steel and aluminum tariffs have increased from 25% and 10% to 50%, justified by national security concerns, while reciprocal tariffs on other countries range from specific percentages like 18% to 49% based on dividing trade deficits by total imports and halving the result. In some cases, Trump has threatened astronomical rates on other countries to put pressure on their leaders to carry out his objectives. 

The U.S. is placing tariffs on other countries for making successful products—not because they’re acting unfairly toward the U.S., says Andrew Wender Cohen, professor of history. 

“Imagine there's a country that's producing something very inexpensively that people make a lot of use out of. You're basically saying, ‘Well, we want to punish you for that.’,” he says.

Read more in the Marketplace article, “How does the Trump administration select tariff percentages?”