Trump Doubles Down on Tariffs as Voter Disapproval Hits 64%

More than 64% of U.S. adults say President Donald Trump has gone too far with his latest tariffs, up from 58% in January, with the Nov. 3 midterm elections less than a month away.

Trump holds the line on the highest U.S. import duties since the Great Depression, betting the policy will play well with voters despite higher consumer prices and a string of legal losses. White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers defended the strategy: "Factory construction jobs of today mean more manufacturing jobs down the road once those factories come online."

Where do Trump's tariffs stand now?

The United States has set duties on imports from most countries in the low double digits. Rates have shifted repeatedly because of legal setbacks and Trump's habit of changing them on a whim.

In last year's biggest round, Trump levied so-called "reciprocal" tariffs on dozens of nations, citing a 1977 law he said allowed emergency action without Congress. The Supreme Court struck that justification down in February. Trump then pivoted to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which permits duties on countries deemed to practice unfair trade, including inadequate enforcement of bans on forced labor.

The new duties range from 10% to 12.5% on imports from 60 economies, including the European Union, India, Japan, Canada and Mexico.

Why do trade experts say the policy is backfiring?

Trump is taking a sledgehammer to a relatively open global trading system that mainstream economists credit with boosting U.S. growth, keeping prices low and building dominant global industries. The U.S. is the world's second-largest exporter, behind only China. It shipped $3.4 trillion in goods and services last year, well ahead of third-place Germany at $2.3 trillion.

Trump claims foreign exporters pay the tariffs. Studies from the New York Fed and Harvard show otherwise: overseas companies have largely refused to cut prices to offset duties U.S. firms pay at the border. American businesses absorb the costs or pass them through to consumers.

The White House points to rising manufacturing and nonresidential construction employment after last year's declines. Rogers tied those trends directly to the tariff push.

Are trading partners actually ripping off the U.S.?

The evidence is mixed. In the four years after China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, nearly 3 million U.S. manufacturing jobs disappeared, accelerating a long shift away from factory work. Some partners do run higher tariffs than the U.S., manipulate currencies to cheapen exports, and subsidize favored industries.

Yet tariffs among major U.S. partners are often low, comparable to American rates. Before the trade war, the U.S. applied an average 1.47% tariff on European Union goods, slightly above the 1.35% the EU charged on U.S. products, according to Brussels think tank Bruegel. About 30% of European imports come from U.S.-owned companies, the European Central Bank estimates.

The Canada picture was similar before trade talks collapsed this summer. Canada's effective tariff on U.S. imports was roughly 2.4%, less than half the 5% the U.S. charged on Canadian goods, according to Oxford Economics. The two countries are now locked in escalating tit-for-tat duties.

What does the political math look like heading into November?

Trump's wager is that voters reward his willingness to challenge trading partners even as household costs rise. The new poll numbers suggest the bet is losing traction: 64% now say he has gone too far, a six-point jump since January. With control of Congress at stake, the gap between his trade posture and public sentiment narrows the runway for any further escalation before Election Day.