The US tariffs are based on the US's trade in goods with other countries last year.
For example, EU countries sold goods to the US for 605.8 billion dollars. The US exported goods to the EU countries for 370.2 billion dollars. The US thus had a deficit in trade in goods with the EU of 235.6 billion dollars.
The US calculates the tariff on European goods as follows: 235.6 divided by 605.8, and then multiplied by 100 = 39 percent.
The tariff rate must be divided by two, and then rounded up. This results in a tariff on European goods of 20 percent.
If, on the other hand, a country has a trade deficit or only a small surplus, they will be hit with a minimum rate of 10 percent duty, which will be introduced as early as Saturday.
The new tariffs is that they only take into account goods such as cars, agricultural products and other physical things.
Here, the United States has a trade deficit with almost the entire world.
But on the other hand, the United States' income from services is not included in the calculations, and this is where American companies such as Google, Netflix and Meta are shoveling money in.
(EU) Germany, France, Italy, ect., buy tech from the United States, and then we have to sell something else to them to be able to afford it. It is misleading that you do not include all the numbers in your calculations.
Those calculations would not have lasted five minutes in an exam room.
The United States has a trade deficit in goods, primarily because the country consumes more than it produces, and because it has a surplus in trade in services.