Trump defends tariffs: US has been "ripped off" for decades

US President Donald Trump has defended his administration’s sweeping new trade policies, claiming the United States has long been exploited by both allies and adversaries on trade and military spending.

“The United States of America has been ripped off on TRADE [and MILITARY!], by friend and foe, alike, for DECADES. It has come at a cost of TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS, and it is just not sustainable any longer - And never was!” Trump wrote in a fiery statement posted on Truth Social, Caliber.Az reports.

He added that foreign nations should recognise the shift in US policy.

“Countries should sit back and say, ‘Thank you for the many year’s long free ride, but we know you now have to do what’s right for America.’ We should respond by saying, ‘Thank you for understanding the situation we are in. Greatly appreciated!’” he added. 

Trump’s remarks come as US tariffs are rising to levels not seen in over a century. Since the start of his new term in January, the average effective US tariff rate has jumped to 16.6 per cent from 2.5 per cent, according to data from the nonpartisan Budget Lab at Yale University.

The current rate marks a dramatic increase from Trump’s first term, when the tariff rate rose modestly from 1.5 to 2.5 per cent, largely due to his trade war with China.

But the latest numbers suggest a more aggressive stance. If all of the new tariffs threatened by the president take effect on August 1, the average rate would surge to 20.6 per cent — the highest level since 1910. That would surpass even the infamous Smoot-Hawley tariffs of the 1930s, which economists widely believe deepened the Great Depression.

“What happened in his first term is not nearly in the ballpark of what is happening now,” said Ernie Tedeschi, director of economics at the Yale Budget Lab.

By Sabina Mammadli