US Tariff Rate Hits 20.1%, Highest Since 1910s, WTO and IMF Reveal

Last Updated:August 08, 2025, 20:56 IST

This figure is a sharp rise compared to the 2.4 percent tariff rate in place when US President Donald Trump took office on January 20

US President Donald Trump (Reuters Image)

The average tariff rate in the United States has reached 20.1 percent, the highest level since the early 1910s, according to data from the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Monetary Fund (IMF) released on Friday.

This comes a day after new duties took effect on Thursday, 7 August. The figure is a sharp rise from the 2.4 percent tariff rate when US President Donald Trump took office on January 20.

Trump’s announcement on April 2 of “reciprocal" tariffs on major trading partners, particularly on Chinese goods, pushed the average tariff rate up to 24.8 percent in May. This was the highest level seen since 1904, according to the United States Trade Commission.

A trade “truce" between the United States and China recently lowered the very high tariffs both countries had imposed on each other, but this agreement is expected to end next week.

The new WTO and IMF figures also include trade deals the US has negotiated with the European Union, Japan, South Korea, and other countries. These deals usually have lower tariffs than those Trump threatened in April but are still higher than the 10 percent baseline rate previously in place.

The calculation applies the latest tariff rates to trade volumes in 2024.

The current average tariff rate now surpasses the nearly 20 percent rate the US had during the 1930s, a period of high tariffs that many economists believe worsened the Great Depression.

(With inputs from AFP)

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