President Trump’s vision for reciprocal trade hinges on a simple-sounding idea: The U.S. should mirror the trade policies of other nations to level the playing field. But there’s a fundamental issue to implementing it that goes beyond the challenges of determining fair, country-by-country parity for trade restrictions.
When Mr. Trump signed the memorandum to establish the rapid review process for reciprocal tariffs, he said, “On trade, I have decided for purposes of fairness, that I will charge a reciprocal tariff—meaning whatever countries charge the United States of America, we will charge them. No more, no less.”