Tariff war: US average duty hits 20.1%, highest since 1910s; WTO & IMF warn of global trade rollback
The average US tariff rate has climbed to 20.1%, its highest sustained level since the 1910s, according to new estimates released by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday. The sharp rise follows fresh duties that took effect Thursday, as part of President Donald Trump’s continued push for “reciprocal” trade terms.At the time of Trump’s inauguration in January 2025, the US average tariff rate stood at just 2.4%. But a series of aggressive increases — especially targeting Chinese goods — has rapidly rolled back decades of trade liberalisation, AFP reported.Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump, who has spearheaded the aggressive tariff push since returning to office, took to Truth Social to defend the measures amid concerns that courts may move to block them.“Tariffs are having a huge positive impact on the Stock Market. Almost every day, new records are set. In addition, Hundreds of Billions of Dollars are pouring into our Country’s coffers,” Trump wrote.“If a Radical Left Court ruled against us at this late date, in an attempt to bring down or disturb the largest amount of money, wealth creation and influence the U.S.A. has ever seen, it would be impossible to ever recover, or pay back, these massive sums of money and honor,” he added.Trump further warned that a judicial reversal could provoke economic collapse “It would be 1929 all over again, a GREAT DEPRESSION! If they were going to rule against the wealth, strength, and power of America, they should have done so LONG AGO, at the beginning of the case, where our entire Country, while never having a chance at this kind of GREATNESS again, would not have been put in 1929 style jeopardy.”A brief spike in May had pushed the average to 24.8%, the highest since 1904, based on data from the United States International Trade Commission (USITC). That level temporarily dropped after a short-lived “truce” with China, but tariff escalations have since resumed.The latest WTO-IMF figure applies current US tariffs to 2024 trade volumes, factoring in recent agreements with key trading partners such as the EU, Japan, and South Korea. While those deals slightly softened the hikes threatened in April, they still locked in rates well above the previous norm — exceeding even the 1930s Smoot-Hawley era, when protectionism deepened the Great Depression.Trump’s April 2 declaration of sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs — aimed at narrowing America’s trade deficit — has led to retaliatory measures from several nations, further straining the global trade environment.The temporary China–US truce that reduced tariff levels is set to expire next week, raising the prospect of renewed escalation.
