Not China nor the EU: The surprising countries hit with the highest tariffs in Trump’s new reciprocal tariff regime

President Donald Trump announced a sweeping new tariff regime on Wednesday evening from the White House, with goods from almost all countries being hit by a minimum 10% tariff.

In addition to that, Trump announced that certain countries would be slammed with higher rates, based on his administrations calculations of how those countries treated US goods. These “reciprocal tariffs”, as they are being called by the administration run from the baseline 10% through to 50%. The system, Trump said, aims to level the playing field and penalize what he described as unfair trade practices.

Which countries were hit with the highest tariffs?

Only two places were slammed with the highest 50% reciprocal tariff, but they weren’t America’s major trade rivals, such as the EU or China. They were a small landlocked country in Africa and a self-governing French overseas French territory.

Lesotho, which is completely surrounded by South Africa, was battered with the full 50% tariff, which comes into effect on 9 April. The country has a population of just over two million. The country’s main export to the US is diamonds, with over $56 million worth of gemstones being shipped to the US in 2023.

Meanwhile Saint Pierre and Miquelon, which has a population of just under 6,000, was the other region hit by Trump’s swingeing 50% tariff. This self-governing territory of France is located in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, near Canada’s Newfoundland and Labrador province. Given their location the islands depend on fishing and servicing fishing fleets, though the economy has been in decline, after disputes with Canada over fishing quotas. Fish exporting to the US is now about to take a huge hit.

Next hardest hit countries by Trump’s tariffs

After Lesotho and Saint Pierre and Miquelon the next hardest hit countries were:

49%

Cambodia

48%

Laos

47%

Madagascar

46%

Vietnam

44%

Myanmar (Burma) Sri Lanka

41%

Falkland Islands Syria

40%

Mauritius

39%

Iraq

38%

Guyana

37%

Bangladesh Botswana Lichtenstein Reunion Serbia

35%

Bosnia and Herzegovina

34%

China

How were the tariffs actually calculated?

According to Trump’s administration the tariffs were calculated by measuring each country’s tariff and non-tariff trade barrier to produce a percentage figure. The reciprocal tariff was then applied at half of that amount.

However author and journalist James Surowiecki spotted that in reality the calculation was far simpler. The Trump administration simply divided the trade deficit the US has with each country by the amount that country exports to us. So in the example of Indonesia: “We have a $17.9 billion trade deficit with Indonesia. Its exports to us are $28 billion. $17.9/$28 = 64%” The reciprocal tariff charged to Indonesia is 32%.

Full list of tariffs applied to countries

The White House pushed back, with Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai saying they had in fact calculated tariff and non-tariff barriers, but as Surowiecki points out, once you put in the actual numbers for the Greek letters, what you get is... trade deficits/imports.

This formula is why you end up with Lesotho having the highest reciprocal tariff of 50%, because, while their trading relationship to the US is very small, they export far more than they import. In 2023 they exported $228 million in total to the US, while the US only exported $7.33 million to Lesotho, with delivery trucks being the main export. That huge disparity means they got slammed with the highest tariff.

Get your game on! Whether you’re into NFL touchdowns, NBA buzzer-beaters, world-class soccer goals, or MLB home runs, our app has it all. Dive into live coverage, expert insights, breaking news, exclusive videos, and more – plus, stay updated on the latest in current affairs and entertainment.

Download now for all-access coverage, right at your fingertips – anytime, anywhere.