Tag

#tariffs

Import duties used as instruments of economic coercion against other nations. When tariffs are deployed as political weapons rather than trade policy, they can harm civilian populations and violate international trade obligations.

3 incidents

Grade 2 of 5: Major Abuse of Power

2025 Tariff Shock: Sweeping Import Taxes Trigger Global Trade Crisis

The tariff regime was described by the administration as reciprocal response to trade imbalances, but the methodology for calculating tariff rates — dividing trade deficits by import values — was not a recognized economic method and did not reflect actual foreign tariff levels. Economists across the political spectrum warned of consumer price increases, supply chain disruptions, and reduced trade volumes. The tariffs on Chinese goods — reaching 145% cumulatively — effectively ended routine trade in many product categories. Markets fell sharply in the two trading days following the announcement. A 90-day pause was announced for most countries (excluding China) after Treasury Secretary Bessent and other officials lobbied Trump.

Grade 2 of 5: Major Abuse of Power

Colombia Deportation Standoff: Economic Coercion via Tariff Threats

The US threatened Colombia with 25-50% tariffs, visa bans, and customs inspections to coerce acceptance of military deportation flights. Colombia capitulated within hours, establishing a precedent for weaponizing economic power to override sovereign decisions on migration.

Grade 1 of 5: Significant Democratic Concern

Steel and Aluminum Tariffs: Trade War With Allies, WTO Violations, Economic Disruption

The Section 232 tariffs were challenged immediately as legally dubious — U.S. national security law did not contemplate allies as threats, and Canada, Germany, South Korea, and Japan supply steel and aluminum to U.S. defense contractors. The EU, Canada, and Mexico all retaliated with targeted tariffs on politically sensitive U.S. products (Bourbon, Harley-Davidson motorcycles, orange juice, soybeans). The broader China trade war — separate from the steel tariffs — involved escalating rounds of tariffs reaching 25% on $250 billion in Chinese goods; China retaliated against agricultural products; the U.S. government paid $28 billion in direct payments to American farmers to compensate for lost Chinese export markets.