The tariff crisis Trump's tariff policy

Trump's proposal for tariffs instead of taxes is questioned: "The math doesn't add up"

The US Supreme Court may have rejected his decision to impose sweeping tariffs on virtually all countries in the world using an emergency law, but President Donald Trump is not going to back down. That was clear during last night's record-long speech to Congress.

According to Trump, "almost all countries and companies" want to keep the agreements they have already concluded with the US, for fear of getting a worse deal if they are forced to renegotiate it. The tariffs will not require congressional approval, because they are "historically proven," he claimed.

- And as time goes on, I believe that the tariffs, paid by other countries, will largely replace today's modern income tax system, just as they did before. It will ease a great burden on the people I love, he said.

However, that math doesn't add up, writes the Wall Street Journal. Today's tariffs – which the Supreme Court considers illegal – bring in $400 billion a year, while the tax base amounts to $2.5 trillion annually.

In order for tariff revenues to come close to the tax base, tariffs need to be raised significantly – which, according to the independent organization Tax Foundation, could in turn lead to imports decreasing so much that tariff revenues still do not reach the necessary level.

Analysis: Clearly Trump will not drop tariffs

On Wednesday night, Donald Trump gave his annual "state of the union" speech, in which he praised his own policies and attacked the Democrats, among other things, for the skyrocketing cost of living.

But Trump's self-image does not match reality, writes DI's Emmanuel Sidea. Not least, Trump made a big mistake in the part that concerned the economy.

"He portrayed it as the economy is booming, when in fact GDP grew by 2.2 percent in 2025 - a lower rate than 2024's 2.3 percent," he writes, adding that Trump's image that inflation has been defeated is difficult to substantiate.

According to SVT's Washington correspondent Ginna Lindberg, it was clear that Donald Trump will not release the tariffs. The president criticized the Supreme Court judges who sat in the front row and who last week stopped Trump's tariffs.

- He called their decision a "disappointment" and "very unfortunate" and claimed that they were in line with his policy, she says.

Trump also said that tariffs could soon replace income tax revenues, a calculation many economists are skeptical of, she points out.