Read John Authers' column at Bloomberg Opinion.
Bloomberg's John Authers on Trump tariffs: “This is ridiculous, they are not reciprocal in any sensible definition of the term”
Authers warned that other countries may not negotiate with U.S. over tariffs to avoid making “big concessions to a bully”
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From the April 3, 2025, edition of Bloomberg's Bloomberg Intelligence
JOHN AUTHERS (BLOOMBERG OPINION COLUMNIST): Basically, the biggest point that — you can make lots of general arguments about what the U.S. tariffs have been, but the main point about them is that they're not serious. That this is ridiculous, they are not reciprocal in any sensible definition of the term. They are simply a retaliation against any country that happens to sell more stuff to the U.S. than the U.S. sells to it.
They don't actually have anything to do with trade barriers that are put up, and they are based on a rather childish view that any — if you run a trade deficit with anyone that means you are being exploited by them. That it can only be because they are doing something unfair rather than because they have some comparative advantage; a concept that's been around for about 200 years. That means that they can make something cheaper than you can and if you buy it from them, you can then go and invest in something better yourself.
So, the prime problem with the rollout is that it's not serious. It's very difficult to negotiate because the reason you are being tariffed is because you happen to have a trade surplus with the U.S. So, for example, if you're Bangladesh, you kind of would have a big trade surplus with the U.S. because you're a very poor country that can't afford stuff from the U.S. And you have people who are prepared to work for very little money and will make your exports appealing. It's not clear to me what you're supposed to do about this sudden apparition of 30-40% tariffs on you from the U.S.
In terms of where we are going next, plainly there is an expectation that there will now be negotiations. This cries out as an opening point for negotiation. The problem is that the tariffs are so ridiculously high, and starting so soon. And have been presented in a way that makes it very difficult for a democratically elected politician to immediately cave in to them. You do not make yourself popular with your voters if you roll over and accept some, you know, make big concessions to a bully.