❞The administration claims that these numbers represent tariff rates and non-tariff barriers. They don’t. Internet sleuths soon worked it out. Trump’s team appears to have taken the US’ trade deficit with the country and divided it by the country’s exports. The US has a $17.9 billion trade deficit with Indonesia and Indonesian exports to the US are $28 billion. They divided 17.9 by 28, got 0.64 and presented it as a 64 per cent tariff.

It’s hard to state just how nonsensical that actually is. You might as well divide the numbers of apples in your kitchen by the number of bagels and use it to calculate your mortgage rate. To criticise it on political or economic grounds is too generous. It operates below the level of rational thought.❝

inews.co.uk/opinion/trumps-dow

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