Trump sticks with tariffs even as US voters turn against them before the
midterms
[October 12, 2026]
By BERNARD CONDON
NEW YORK (AP) — Maybe President Donald Trump really does believe that
“tariff” is the most beautiful word in the dictionary.
Despite higher prices, criticism from trade experts and displeasure
among voters, Trump holds fast to his belief that imposing the highest
import duties on U.S. trading partners since the Great Depression is a
winner.
A recent poll suggests that is a big gamble with less than a month
before the Nov. 3 midterms. Most U.S. adults disapprove of his trade
policies, with more than 64% saying he has gone too far with his latest
tariffs, compared with 58% in January.
A look at the political, legal and economic challenges to the Republican
president's approach to trade.
Where Trump's ever-changing tariffs stand today
The United States has set taxes on imports from most countries in the
low double digits, although the rates have gone up and down because of
legal setbacks as well as Trump's habit of changing them seemingly on a
whim.
In the biggest round last year, Trump levied what he called “reciprocal”
tariffs and other duties on dozens of countries. He cited a 1977 law
that he said allowed him to act without congressional approval in an
economic emergency.
After the Supreme Court struck that down in February, Trump turned to an
array of other trade laws to accomplish his goals.
The primary one he is using now, Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974,
allows him to impose tariffs on countries that he believes are engaging
in unfair trade practices, such as not adequately enforcing a ban on
forced labor. The new duties range from 10% to 12.5% on imports from 60
economies, including big U.S. trading partners such as the European
Union, India, Japan, Canada and Mexico.
Why trade experts think Trump is causing more damage than good
Trump is taking a sledgehammer to a relatively open global trading
system that many mainstream economists think has benefited the U.S.
enormously. It has helped boost growth, keep prices low and make U.S.
businesses more competitive and often dominant in global industries.
The U.S. is the second-largest exporter in the world, after China. It
exported $3.4 trillion in goods and services last year, far ahead of
third place Germany’s $2.3 trillion.
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Although Trump claims foreign exporters are paying tariffs, it is
mostly Americans who are footing the bill. Studies, including ones
from New York Fed and Harvard, have shown that overseas companies
have largely not lowered their prices to offset the tariffs that
U.S. businesses pay at the border. Those businesses are absorbing
the added costs or passing them along to consumers through higher
prices.
The White House responds that the factory boom is already underway
and points to statistics showing that manufacturing jobs, after
falling last year, are on the upswing and work in certain
nonresidential construction trades is rising, too.
“Factory construction jobs of today mean more manufacturing jobs
down the road once those factories come online,” said White House
spokeswoman Taylor Rogers.
Mixed evidence that countries are ‘ripping off’ the US
In the four years after China joined the World Trade Organization in
2001, nearly 3 million U.S. manufacturing jobs were lost,
accelerating a shift away from factory work. Even global trade
enthusiasts recognize the damage. Many U.S. companies struggled to
compete with an influx of discounted products from China, which has
suppressed consumption to encourage exports
It also is true that some countries have higher tariffs than the
U.S., manipulate their currencies lower to ensure to make their
exports to the U.S. cheaper and help industries with subsidies.
But tariffs among U.S. major trading partners are low, often
comparable to U.S. rates and sometimes lower.
Before the trade war, the U.S. rate averaged 1.47% for goods from
the European Union, slightly above the average 1.35% imposed by the
EU on American products, according to the Brussels think tank
Bruegel. Europeans are big buyers of what America wants to sell.
About 30% of European imports are from U.S.-owned companies,
according to the European Central Bank.
The relationship with Canada, America's big trading partner to the
north, was also similar before trade talks broke down this summer.
Canada's effective tariff rate on U.S. imports was about 2.4%, less
than half the 5% that the U.S. had on Canadian imports, according to
calculations by Oxford Economics.
Now the countries are mired in a tit-for-tat dispute, with both
countries escalating tariffs on each other.
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