Trump tariffs: Who are the ‘Dirty 15’ countries with steep tariffs, trade barriers?

US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs are set to come into effect from April 2. He had earlier said that no country would be imposed on ‘all of the countries’ and not just a small group. Trump said April 2 will be ‘Liberation Day’ for the US. 

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently spoke about a few countries with high tariffs that it called the ‘Dirty 15’ – 15 per cent of US trading partners that impose steep tariffs. Bessent did not disclose the exact name of the countries but the list probably includes the following names, as judged by US Commerce Department’s 2024 trade deficit report: China, European Union, Mexico, Vietnam, Ireland, Germany, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Canada, India, Thailand, Italy, Switzerland, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

Additionally, US Trade Representative (USTR) has also highlighted 21 nations, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom and Vietnam.

Trump’s tariffs are expected to vary from country to country and across industries. The administration is considering imposing restrictions on the trade of various products, including pharmaceuticals and semiconductors. This move follows the recent announcement of a 25 per cent levy on imports of cars and parts.

In a related development, there has been a recent threat to penalise countries purchasing Venezuelan oil. This indicates that the administration views trade duties as a versatile tool that can be directed at a wide range of targets.

The US has around 12,500 separate entries and applies to trade with almost 200 countries, indicating the tariffs would impact millions of bilateral relationships. All of this would require a bespoke reciprocal tariff. 

Meanwhile, UBS economists have calculated that despite the increased tariffs, US’ trade-weighted average tariff would rise by just 1.65 percentage points.