The Office of the United States Trade Representative ( USTR) has put out a note explaining reciprocity and reciprocal tariff calculations. It says that ‘reciprocal tariffs are calculated as the tariff rate necessary to balance bilateral trade deficits between the U.S. and each of our trading partners. This calculation assumes that persistent trade deficits are due to a combination of tariff and non-tariff factors that prevent trade from balancing’.
