Policy Issues / Healthy Communities

Primer: Tariff and Non-Tariff Barriers Imposed on the United States by Foreign Nations

by Paige Hauser

March 11, 2025

In spite of the complaints of naysayers and so-called free-trade advocates, it should be remembered that President Trump is not being radical. He is merely treating the world as the world has treated the United States.

In the first days of his second administration, President Donald Trump threatened to place tariffs on China, Mexico, and Canada and announced a plan to impose a reciprocal tariff on all other nations, applying the same tariff to others that those nations apply to the United States. In his address to a joint session of Congress on March 4, he did exactly what he promised. 

Free-trade advocates have cried foul at President Trump’s plans, fearful that U.S.-imposed duties will spark a trade war that would disrupt the free flow of goods, which they see as the key to rising GDP and low-cost consumer products. 

The truth is that President Trump is not starting a trade war. He is merely fighting back in the trade war others have waged against the United States for decades. While others are playing the victim card, broadcasting a sense of betrayal that the United States would impose barriers against their goods, those same nations have had longstanding, robust tariff and non-tariff barriers against U.S. producers. They are aghast not that there are trade barriers but that the United States has finally decided to play fair. 

To see why reciprocal tariffs may be justified, it will be useful to review at a high level the tariff and non-tariff barriers that have been imposed on the United States by other countries.

First, tariffs: There are many ways to measure tariffs, but one common metric is the Most Favored Nation (MFN) applied tariff, which is the tariff rate a country applies to imports from countries to which it grants MFN status. The United States grants MFN status to nearly all countries except Russia, Belarus, North Korea, and Cuba and generally receives MFN treatment in return from members of the World Trade Organization.¹ Though MFN status is intended to promote fair trade, America is still at a disadvantage. The United States maintains an average MFN applied tariff of just 3.3 percent while other nations—as shown in the table below—impose significantly higher MFN rates.² Countries with seemingly lower tariffs—for example, Canada and Mexico—only have those reduced rates because the United States offered to match a lower tariff rate. By and large, it is much cheaper for foreign goods to be sold in the United States than for U.S. goods to compete abroad.

It is not just tariffs. Non-tariff trade barriers likewise put the United States at a great disadvantage. These non-tariff barriers are as varied and complex as the nations that created them and can include forced technology and intellectual property transfers, subsidies for domestic industries, complex and costly licensing and permitting fees for foreign companies, tariff rate quotas,³ value-added taxes (VATs), and more. Europe especially abuses VATs. While a VAT must be paid on every import into the European Union (EU), the EU does not impose a VAT on European exports. In other words, the EU makes the United States pay to enter its market but does not make its sellers pay to export. Yet the United States has not imposed high tariffs on EU producers and has never erected a VAT regime.^{4, 5}

The United States is often at a disadvantage because foreign producers are rarely expected to follow the same labor and environmental standards that we expect of American producers. Such foreign companies can undercut American producers through shady practices such as using high-polluting factories or deploying slave labor. This not only allows them to flood the U.S. market with artificially cheap goods but also makes American goods less competitive abroad. 

To understand just how unfree global trade policy has been, Center for Renewing America measured the trade barriers major nations have erected against the United States. The table below includes the average tariff rates and a list of some of the notable excessive tariffs and non-tariff barriers imposed on the United States by the largest economies in the world, as well as many nations with smaller economies in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the EU.

Country	Average MFN Applied Tariff Rate	Notable Tariff and Non-Tariff Barriers
Argentina	13.30%	Argentina imposes various taxes on imports, including a: • 3% statistical tax • 10% to 20% advance • 6% to 11% income tax withholding • 30% tax on online imports Argentina prohibits or restricts the importation of: • Remanufactured products • Medical goods • Live cattle • Fresh, frozen, or chilled poultry
Australia	Duty Free	Australia prohibits the importation of: • U.S. fresh beef and beef products  • Fresh or chilled pork products • U.S. apples and pears  Australia also severely restricts the imports of uncooked poultry meat and cooked poultry meat.
Bangladesh	17.90%	Bangladesh imposes various taxes on imports, including a: • 0% to 15% VAT • 5% advanced income tax • 0% to 500% duty on new, large-engine vehicles Bangladesh severely restricts the importation of U.S. cotton and has a large number of domestic agricultural subsidies.
Brazil	11.10%	Brazil imposes various taxes on imports, including a(n): • 18% tax on ethanol • 25% tax on certain alcoholic beverages • 60% tax on express shipments • 8% tax on ocean freight Brazil prohibits or restricts the importation of • Used consumer goods • Remanufactured goods • U.S. fresh, frozen, or processed pork products Brazil also frequently modifies its tariff rates, making it difficult for U.S. producers to forecast costs. It imposes significant delays on issuing licenses for foreign auto manufacturers.
Canada	Duty Free	Canada has many prohibitions or restrictions on importation, especially of: • Dairy, chicken, turkey, and eggs using production quotas, price and supply regulations, and tariff rate quotas • Fresh fruits and packages above a certain size • Beer, alcohol, and liquor • Certain types of seeds
Chile	Duty Free	Chile severely restricts the importation of U.S. blueberries, delays patents for pharmaceuticals, and imposes added brokerage costs for trade in goods valued above $2,000 to $3,000.
China	7.50%	China prohibits or restricts the importation of: • Agricultural products such as wheat, corn, and rice • Basic telecommunications services • Unprocessed scrap metal • Remanufactured products China imposes added costs on foreign producers by: • Arbitrarily raising and lowering the VAT rebate on agricultural commodities • Imposing and retracting VATs to support domestic industries, especially for wheat, corn, and soybeans • Inconsistently enforcing agricultural regulations • Selectively intervening in alleged regulatory violations • Restricting the services market • Subsidizing domestic industries, especially in agriculture and fishing • Imposing export quotas, minimum export prices, export duties, and other export restraints on raw materials used by foreign manufacturers and businesses China also imposes undue costs and burdens on U.S. producers, including by: • Pressuring U.S. companies to transfer technology to Chinese entities, often as a condition for accessing the Chinese market • Pressuring U.S. companies to disclose trade secrets and confidential business information • Failing to protect trade secrets, especially U.S. trade secrets that benefit Chinese companies • Failing to punish Chinese companies that steal American trade secrets • Infiltrating the computer systems of U.S. companies to steal proprietary information and intellectual property • Blocking access to U.S. commercial websites or degrading the performance of such sites within China • Restricting foreign cloud computing services • Restricting foreign legal services • Restricting cross-border data transfers • Restricting foreign investment  and market access • Selectively applying anti-monopoly laws
Colombia	Duty Free	Colombia imposes added costs and barriers on imports by: • Requiring costly third-party safety certifications for vehicle components • Imposing duplicative compliance challenges on U.S. vehicles and parts • Requiring physical invoices, slowing customs clearances
Costa Rica	Duty Free	Costa Rica imposes an excise tax on distilled spirits and imposes burdensome and slow registration and permit requirements on: • Dietary supplements • Plants • Food, including dairy products • Animal feed • Pet food
Egypt	19%	Egypt imposes various high taxes on imports, including: • Passenger cars • Alcoholic beverages Egypt imposes added regulatory costs and import barriers on: • Nutritional supplements • Specialty foods • Dietary foods  • Vehicle and automotive parts • Dairy exports • Finished consumer products • Express delivery services Egypt also prohibits the importation of U.S. seed potatoes.
European Union6	5.10%	The EU imposes various tariffs on imports, including up to a: • 26% tariff on fish and seafood • 22% tariff on trucks • 14% tariff on bicycles • 10% tariff on passenger vehicles • 12% tariff on processed wood products • 6.5% tariff on fertilizers and plastics The EU especially restricts or prohibits importation of U.S.: • Beef • Coffee • Cocoa • Palm oil • Soy • Wood • Rubber • Live cattle • Chemicals • Pesticides • Biofuels • Wine • Beef • Pork • Poultry • Veterinary medicine • Genetically engineered crops • Logs • Wood chips • Animal byproducts • Processed shellfish  The EU imposes undue burdens on U.S. exports by: • Failing to uniformly apply its EU-wide customs legislation across all member states  • Impeding market access for products that comply with often more stringent international standards but not with European regional standards In 2025, the EU will impose a fee based on the carbon emissions of imports.
Hong Kong	Duty Free	Hong Kong is vulnerable to digital copyright piracy.
India	18.10%	India imposes various duties on imports, including: • 113.1% average tariff on agricultural products, with rates as high as 300% • 10% surcharge on imports • 6% tax on foreign online advertising platforms • High tariffs on agricultural products, processed foods, automobiles, and essential medicines. India prohibits or restricts imports of: • Tallow, fat, and oils of animal origin • Livestock products • Chemicals • Petrochemicals • Telegraph equipment • IT products • Pharmaceuticals • Corn • Coronary stents • Ethanol for fuel • Alfalfa hay • Agricultural biotechnology • Milk and dairy products • Pork and pork products • Fish and fish products • Distillers dried grains with solubles • Grain India imposes undue burdens on imports of remanufactured goods, heavily subsidizes its domestic agricultural sector, and restricts foreign investment.
Indonesia	8%	Indonesia imposes undue burdens on foreign exporters by: • Imposing cumbersome tax audits • Imposing heavy fines for administrative mistakes • Requiring lengthy dispute mechanisms • Requiring duplicative and restrictive import licensing requirements • Imposing $10,000-per-facility inspection and audit fees on facilities • Requiring retail companies to prioritize use of domestic goods • Subsidizing domestic manufacturing Indonesia prohibits or restricts imports of: • Sugar • Corn • Rice • Soybeans • Toys • Home appliances • Electronics • Cosmetics
Israel	3.40%	Israel imposes high tariffs and complicated tax regimes on imports of: • Dairy products • Fresh fruits • Fresh vegetables • Almonds • Wine • Fresh and frozen fish • Some processed foods
Japan	3.90%	Japan imposes high tariffs on U.S.: • Chemicals • Fish • Wood products • Jewelry • Rice and rice products • Certain dairy products • Mineral water and fruit juices • Processed foods • Pet food • Grapes • Frozen blueberries • Sugar • Fish • Leather • Pork • Chocolate • Sweetened cocoa powder Japan restricts or imposes excessive burdens on the importation of U.S.: • Beef • Potatoes • Plums • Vehicles • Automotive parts • Radio devices
Malaysia	5.60%	Malaysia imposes high excise taxes and tariffs on imported: • Distilled spirits • Motor vehicles Malaysia restricts the importation of: • Automobile parts • Vehicles • Motorcycles • Alcoholic beverages Malaysia also imposes burdens on foreign banks, cloud service providers, financial institutions, and foreign investors.
Mexico	Duty Free	Mexico restricts trade through: • Uneven border enforcement of labeling rules • Limiting certain goods to enter only at specific ports of entry • Limiting private energy competitors and foreign transportation infrastructure providers • Allowing significant delays in import permit applications Mexico’s regulatory delays, burdensome requirements, and import restrictions limit or ban the importation of: • Medical devices • Pharmaceuticals • Steel products • Pesticides • Agricultural chemicals • Chemicals • Petrochemicals • Cheese • Milk powder • Yogurt • Mobile devices • Genetically engineered corn and dough
New Zealand	1.90%	New Zealand restricts or adds undue burdens on the importation of U.S.: • Pork products • Vehicles • Machinery • Pharmaceuticals
Nigeria	12%	Nigeria applies excessive tariffs, including a: • 20% tariff on consumer goods • 35% tariff on goods specifically earmarked by the Nigerian government • 120% tariff on rice • 100% tariff on wheat flour • 80% tariff on sugar • Average effective tariff of 50% or more on 156 goods and services Nigeria prohibits or restricts the importation of: • Bird eggs • Cocoa butter • Cocoa powder • Cakes • Pork • Beef • Live or dead birds • Frozen poultry • Refined vegetable oil and fats • Bottled water • Spaghetti and other noodles • Fruit juice • Tomatoes • Ketchup • Tomato sauces • Nonalcoholic beverages • Bagged cement • Beer • Soaps • Detergents • Mosquito repellent coils • Paper board • Phone recharge cards and vouchers • Used motor vehicles more than 12 years old • Ballpoint pens • Pistols and air pistols • Used clothing • Certain spirits and alcohol • Beef • Poultry • Pork • Sheep • Goat meat Nigeria also imposes undue burdens on foreign producers through: • Inconsistent application of customs regulations • Lengthy procedures • 30% corporate income tax and 7.5% VAT on large digital firms
Norway	5.20%	Norway restricts or impedes U.S. producers through: • Excessive tariffs on agricultural products up to several hundred percent • Selective tariff reductions on agricultural products with little notice that U.S. producers of perishable goods have difficulty responding to • Restrictions on biotechnology products
Pakistan	10.30%	Pakistan restricts the importation of: • Active ingredients for manufactured pesticides • Food colors • Waste • Scrap plastic Pakistan imposes undue burdens on foreign producers through: • A lack of uniform customs valuations • Requiring the repackaging of refined vegetable oil • Limiting foreign investment • Restrictive licensing, registration, and broad limits on cross-border data flows
Peru	Duty Free	Peru prohibits or restricts the importation of: • Genetically engineered crops • Genetically engineered seeds • U.S. processed meat and egg products
Philippines	6.10%	The Philippines imposes excessive duties on: • Sugar • Corn • Coffee and coffee extracts • Potatoes • Pork • Poultry products • Automobiles • Motorcycles • Passenger vehicles The Philippines prohibits or restricts the importation ofUsed motor vehicles: • Used motor vehicle parts • Sugar • Fish • Agricultural products • Frozen meat The Philippines restricts or bans foreign ownership and/or investment in: • Cable television • Film distribution • Banks • Retail • Small mining cooperatives • Marine resources • Natural resources extraction • Educational institutions • Private radio communication networks • Public utilities • Seaports
Republic of Korea	Duty Free	The Republic of Korea imposes undue burdens, regulations, and import prohibitions on: • U.S. agricultural products • Biotechnology producers • U.S. beef and beef products • Blueberries • Cherries • Apples • Pears • Grapefruits • Stone fruits • U.S. cloud providers Korea has unequally enforced vehicle component emissions regulations, an uncertain regulatory process, and insufficient protections for U.S. chemical producers.
Russia	No figures available	After the United States imposed full-scale sanctions against Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine, Russia engaged in aggressive retaliatory measures, including attempting to replace imports with domestic goods and services.
Saudi Arabia	6.20%	Saudi Arabia imposes excessive duties on imports, including: • 6.5% to 40% tariffs on goods that compete with domestic industries • 5.5% to 25% tariff rates on foodstuffs, beverages, and industrial and agricultural products Saudi Arabia imposes undue burdens on imports through: • Certification delays • Inconsistent product testing fees • Overseas audits Saudi Arabia prohibits the importation of 37 categories of products, restricts importation on 23 categories of products, and imposes excessive standards that limit market access for U.S. producers, especially of automobiles, electrical equipment, and appliances.
Singapore	Duty Free	Singapore mandates that a majority of employees of digital banks be headquartered in Singapore and restricts U.S. law firms from advising Singapore-qualified lawyers.
South Africa	7.60%	South Africa imposes restrictions, barriers, and regulatory burdens against: • U.S. exports of frozen, bone-in chicken meat • Waste • Scrap • Electrical and electronic goods • Imported meat and poultry • U.S. apples • Cross-border data transfers South Africa also passed legislation allowing the expropriation of property without compensation.
Switzerland	5.60%	Switzerland imposes significant restrictions on U.S. agricultural products through: • High tariffs on U.S. products • Preferential tariffs for products from other trading partners• Subsidies, price controls, and production quotas for domestic products • Seasonal import duties, quotas, and licensing on agricultural products that compete with Swiss products • Added tariff barriers on animal, dairy, fresh fruit, and vegetable products
Taiwan	6.50%	Taiwan prohibits or restricts the importation of: • Beef products • Tallow • Chipping potatoes • Automobiles • Biotechnology food ingredients • Pork products Taiwan imposes excessive tariffs on 16 agricultural products, including rice and peanuts.
Thailand	9.70%	Thailand imposes high tariffs and taxes on: • Wine, which faces a 400% effective duty and tax burden • Coffee • Tea • Potatoes • Corn • Soybeans • Soybean meal Thailand restricts, imposes barriers, or imposes excessive burdens on the importation of: • Uncooked meat • Biofuels • Wood • Petroleum • Industrial machinery • Textiles • Pharmaceuticals • Cosmetics • Food and agricultural items • Salt • Personal computers • Computer devices such as keyboards and monitors • Barcode scanners • Photocopiers • U.S. pork
Turkey	16.80%	Turkey applies all EU common external tariffs to non-EU countries. Turkey imposes excessive tariffs, often specifically on U.S. products, including a: • 60% tariff on passenger cars and parts • 70% tariff on distilled spirits • 30% tariff on skincare and makeup materials • 25% tariff on rice • 10% tariff on wood and tree nuts • 39.3% average tariff on fresh fruit imports • 65% to 121% tariff on chicken products • Special excise duty on beverages, natural gas, petroleum products, and vehicles Turkey prohibits, restricts, or imposes excessive burdens on the importation of: • Refurbished parts, including computer and medical equipment • Construction equipment • Tractors • Agricultural equipment • Photocopiers • Diesel generators • Data processing equipment • Pharmaceuticals • Live animals • U.S. unmilled rice
United Arab Emirates	4.70%	The United Arab Emirates (UAE) prohibits or restricts the importation of: • Alcoholic beverages • Medicated spirits • Methyl alcohol • Pork products • Agricultural pesticides • Waste-derived fuel The UAE imposes costly requirements on U.S. products, including authentication of all non-agricultural products by the Embassy of the UAE.
United Kingdom	3.80%	The United Kingdom largely mimics the EU’s legal and regulatory structures and has specific excessive tariffs targeting industries with heavy U.S. exports, such as beef, pork, cereals, and rice.The UK imposes duties on roughly 5,000 products and services, including ceramics, chemicals, and vehicles. These include a: • 35% tariff on some fish and seafood products • 10% tariff on trucks and passenger vehicles • 6.5% tariff on certain fertilizers
Vietnam	9.60%	Vietnam imposes excessive tariffs on U.S. food and agricultural products including: • Sweeteners • Shelled walnuts • Ketchup • Inkjet printers • Stainless steel bar and rods • Ethanol Vietnam prohibits, restricts, or imposes excessive burdens on the importation of: • Certain children’s toys • Secondhand consumer goods • Used vehicle parts • Used small internal combustion engines • Certain encryption devices and software • Refurbished medical devices • All goods with labels • U.S. subscription video services without an office in Vietnam

The data is clear that the world does not enjoy free trade—and it is not America’s fault. The United States faces unequal and burdensome tariff and non-tariff barriers nearly across the board. 

Sometimes the barriers are egregious and obvious, such as outright bans on U.S. goods and agricultural products or unconscionably high tariff rates. Other times the barriers are more insidious and hidden, as with China’s refusal to punish companies that steal U.S. intellectual property or the EU’s VAT regime and exclusionary food safety regulations.

Regardless, in many circumstances it is significantly easier for foreign producers to access the U.S. market than for U.S. producers to access foreign markets. Thus, heeding calls to lower U.S. protections will only serve to keep domestic producers at a disadvantage while other nations continue to exploit and free ride on the United States.

This favorable situation is what makes other nations so afraid of President Trump’s decision to impose reciprocal tariff and non-tariff barriers. As President Trump said in his recent speech to a joint session of Congress:

“April 2nd, reciprocal tariffs kick in and whatever they tariff us—other countries—we will tariff them. That’s reciprocal, back and forth. Whatever they tax us, we will tax them. If they do non-monetary tariffs to keep us out of their market, then we will do non-monetary barriers to keep them out of our market.“

Globalists and their friends in the media may call this a trade war. But President Trump’s tariffs are a response to the trade war other nations have waged against the United States for generations. The United States cannot unilaterally remove the world’s trade barriers. Nor should it surrender to an unequal trade regime at the expense of the American people.

The leadership class has spent decades choosing the first option: surrendering to the world’s unequal trade regime and leaving the American people with hollowed-out industries, declining cities, and stagnant wages. The American people deserve leaders who protect them from the predation of foreign nations.

President Trump’s tariffs are doing exactly that. In spite of the complaints of naysayers and so-called free-trade advocates, it should be remembered that President Trump is not being radical. He is merely treating the world as the world has treated the United States.

Endnotes

1. Cassidy Levy Kent. “U.S. Revokes Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) Status for Russia and Belarus and Bans Russian Energy Imports.” Cassidy Levy Kent, March 14, 2022. https://www.cassidylevy.com/news/u-s-revokes-most-favored-nation-mfn-status-for-russia-and-belarus-and-bans-russian-energy-imports/.

2. World Trade Organization. United States Tariff Profile. World Trade Organization. Accessed February 14, 2025. https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/statis_e/daily_update_e/tariff_profiles/US_e.pdf.

3. Tariff rate quotas allow goods under a certain quantity to enter at a lower tariff rate and place a higher rate on imports exceeding that quantity. For reference, please see https://www.macmap.org/en/resources/glossary.

4. European Commission. VAT Rules and Rates. Accessed February 14, 2025. https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/taxation/vat/vat-rules-rates/index_en.htm.

5. International Trade Administration. EU – Value Added Tax (VAT). Accessed February 14, 2025. https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/eu-value-added-tax-vat.

6. The European Union sets trade policy for its member nations.

7. World Trade Organization. 2024. World Tariff Profiles 2024. https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/booksp_e/world_tariff_profiles24_e.pdf.

8. Office of the United States Trade Representative. 2024. 2024 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers. https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/2024%20NTE%20Report_1.pdf. 

9. Office of the United States Trade Representative. 2023. 2023 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers. https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/2023-03/2023%20NTE%20Report.pdf.