U.S. President Donald Trump sought to use tariff weapons to balance the massive U.S. trade deficit with its trading partners, which reached the second-highest level in history based on data going back to the 1960s. The task was not easy, especially after the trade gap widened by 17% in 2024 to reach $918 billion. Trump addressed this by issuing a large number of executive orders to increase tariffs. Since then, the Trump administration has continued to adjust its tariff threats, leading to a state of uncertainty across supply chains. This policy had significant repercussions.
