Trump's tariff: Devoid of logic

On April 2, Trump's Liberation Day, he announced a sweeping tariff to all countries (allies and enemies alike) all over the globe.

- Fidel O. Abalos

It is so sweeping that pundits felt that the pegged rates are totally devoid of logic. Just plucked out of thin air. Consider this, among member states of the ASEAN, two tiny countries, Cambodia and Laos, with so little trade with the USA was slapped with the highest tariffs at 49% and 48%, respectively. On the other hand, Singapore and us (the Philippines) were slapped with the lowest tariffs, at 10% and 17%, respectively. Though devoid of logic, at least there could be some reasons, no matter how trivial these maybe.

Let's start with the report from the Office of the US Trade Representative. The US goods trade with Cambodia totaled an estimated US$13 billion in 2024. This represents the sum of the US goods exports to Cambodia of US$321.6 million and its goods imports totaling US$12.7 billion in 2024. The US goods trade deficit, therefore, with Cambodia was US$12.3 billion in the same year. Hence, the US trade deficit with Cambodia is 3,849% of its export.