Trump’s Reciprocal Tariffs: Which Georgia Trade Partners Are Hit Hardest

Edits/updates: A previous version of this story said it was unclear exactly how the Trump administration calculated the elevated reciprocal tariff rates, but analysis by journalists and experts has landed on a simple formula hidden behind seemingly complex calculations: Dividing the goods trade deficit by the amount the U.S. imports from the same country (the administration takes issue with this characterization, saying it actually looked at non-tariff barriers, currency manipulation, etc.) The administration then offered a “kind” discount by dividing that number in half. See an explanation in the WSJ here.

President Donald Trump’s sweeping raft of so-called “reciprocal” tariffs introduced Wednesday were set to hit some of Georgia’s top trading partners hardest, pummeling China but also smacking allies with unexpected broadsides. 

While instituting an across-the-board 10 percent tariff (effective April 5) on nearly all imported goods, the president also announced plans to slap what he called “worst offenders” with higher rates (April 9 enactment) the administration said were meant to rectify trade deficits and address non-tariff barriers and currency manipulation. 

The Trump administration calculated the elevated reciprocal tariff rates with a formula that focused more on trade deficits than the rates charged to the U.S. by trading partners. Mr. Trump displayed the findings on a chart he held as he announced the move Wednesday in the White House Rose Garden, sending stock markets plunging in Thursday trading. 

But the rates varied widely across the 60-odd countries affected, with seemingly little regard for alliances or free-trade deals other than the USMCA with Canada and Mexico.  

China was slapped with a 34 percent levy on top of the existing 20 percent Mr. Trump had already imposed since taking office in January, bringing the current tariff on imported Chinese goods to 54 percent. 

Georgia imported $17.2 billion from China in 2024, according to the Georgia Department of Economic Development, down from $23.5 billion in 2021. 

Along with Mexico, now Georgia’s top import market and the big winner in the so-called “re-shoring” boom, Asian countries seem to have picked up much of the slack. 

South Korean imports (half comprised of cars and auto parts) into Georgia have doubled to $16 billion in those three years, while Vietnam, Thailand and India all posted rapid growth rates to crack Georgia’s top 10 as many producers looked to reduce their exposure to China.

Leaving China, however, apparently wasn’t enough for Mr. Trump, who hit South Asian and Southeast Asian manufacturing hubs particularly hard, leaving nowhere to hide for producers that had shifted to lower-cost destinations in Asia.

Vietnam will face a 46 percent tariff, while Thailand and India will see their rates shoot up to 36 and 26 percent, respectively. Taiwan, a democratic partner whose security the U.S. has traditionally guaranteed, was hit with a 32 percent tariff, though its all-important semiconductor sector seems to have netted a rare exemption thanks to TSMC’s plans to invest billions more in Arizona.

South Korea, a top investor for Georgia which has a free-trade agreement with the U.S., was hit with a 25 percent tariff. 

Auto tariffs landed Thursday

The so-called “Liberation Day” reciprocal tariffs were announced a day before the 25 percent car and auto parts levies that Mr. Trump had previously announced went into effect Thursday, April 3, at midnight.

In a bit of a reprieve, especially for the Korean and Japanese car makers and suppliers that have spent billions in Georgia, the measures aren’t stackable, meaning that steel, aluminum, cars and parts that fall under already elevated tariffs are not hit by the additional rate.

Still, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade group of largely foreign-owned brands and suppliers, pointed to the potential for tariff-fueled job losses in states like Georgia, which ranked No. 7 in jobs supported by the auto industry at 260,883. 

“Additional tariffs will increase costs on American consumers, lower the total number of vehicles sold inside the U.S. and reduce U.S. auto exports – all before any new manufacturing or jobs are created in this country,” said John Bozzella, president and CEO of the alliance, which includes Georgia foreign investors like Porsche, SK On, Honda, Magna, Mercedes-Benz, Panasonic and more.

Japan, which supports some 40,000 jobs in Georgia, mostly in auto parts, will face a 24 percent (non-auto) reciprocal tariff under the regime announced by Mr. Trump. 

Hyundai Motor Group, which announced a $21 billion investment plan in the U.S. and officially opened its a new Georgia plant last week, said Thursday it was still evaluating impacts of the administration’s new trade policies. 

“We are closely monitoring new policy developments and continually review various business strategies to ensure long-term profitability. Nothing has been determined at this stage,” the company said in a statement provided to Global Atlanta. 

The European Union, which was subjected Wednesday to another 20 percent tariff on top of Mr. Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs, is planning to strike back beyond the 26 billion euros in American goods targeted with retaliatory measures last month.

Officials have indicated that American service providers — particularly tech giants — could be next in the crosshairs. French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that French companies should pause investments in the U.S. until the EU can gain relief from tariffs, which some Europeans saw as an unprompted act of aggression. 

The Southeast U.S. is home to a strong German automotive manufacturing corridor, but many German brands also import models and parts from their home market, a trend that shows up in Georgia’s $11.8 billion in imports from Germany. 

Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz, with factories in Tennessee and Alabama, respectively, warned that new models would see price increases or import surcharges once auto tariffs went into effect this week.

Kia, which produces a variety of models at a plant in West Point, Ga., said it saw record U.S. sales of 78,540 vehicles in March as consumers tried to get ahead of the tariffs. The Georgia Ports Authority, meanwhile, saw a similar trend at work while recording its highest-ever monthly container traffic for two straight months, including moving 534,000 TEUs in March, up 22.5 percent from the prior year. 

“The rate of growth was due in large part to two factors: Cargo coming back from the U.S. West Coast after the completion of labor contract negotiations, and second, customers front-loading orders to avoid new tariffs,” said GPA President and CEO Griff Lynch in a news release. 

Atlanta has an edge, but ‘No one wins a trade war’ 

Metro Atlanta Chamber Chief Economist Jerry Parrish said the effects of rising tariffs on the region will be nuanced, with some potential short-term gains for, say, local contract manufacturers who can sell excess capacity to foreign producers looking to source U.S.-origin products. 

“The uncertainty and unpredictable environment surrounding these policies create serious challenges for businesses. Stability and clarity are what leads to the kind of strong economic environment Atlanta and Georgia have enjoyed in recent decades,” Dr. Parrish said. 

But a few things are certain, he told Global Atlanta an interview: tariffs are “highly likely to be inflationary” and have already put a damper on U.S. consumer sentiment, especially coming after a string of federal government layoffs. 

“We remain deeply concerned about the impact of tariffs on industries across metro Atlanta and Georgia. No one wins a trade war,” said Dr. Parrish. “We know the economic effects will have a negative impact far beyond individual sectors, affecting businesses, workers, and consumers alike.”

That said, Atlanta has outperformed the nation for many years and has the potential to absorb some rationalization that could happen around the country should the U.S. tip into a recession, which Mr. Parrish doesn’t see as likely. 

“We’re growing. We’re in the Sun Belt. We’ve got a good, diverse talent supply that companies can choose from in one of the most highly educated cities in the country. And so I think even on the downside, Atlanta is going to be appealing,” he said. 

The big question, however, is how long the current trade volatility lasts. 

“The longer it goes on, the higher the probability of recession,” Dr. Parrish said. “If this gets solved in the next couple of months, I think we’ll scoot on out and be fine. If it goes on longer, then yes, it’ll be difficult.” 

Full tariff chart as of April 4:

Country	Tariff Rate
China	34%
European Union	20%
Vietnam	46%
Taiwan	32%
Japan	24%
India	26%
South Korea	25%
Thailand	36%
Switzerland	31%
Indonesia	32%
Malaysia	24%
Cambodia	49%
United Kingdom	10%
South Africa	30%
Brazil	10%
Bangladesh	37%
Singapore	10%
Israel	17%
Philippines	17%
Chile	10%
Australia	10%
Pakistan	29%
Turkey	10%
Sri Lanka	44%
Colombia	10%
Peru	10%
Nicaragua	18%
Norway	15%
Costa Rica	10%
Jordan	20%
Dominican Republic	10%
United Arab Emirates	10%
New Zealand	10%
Argentina	10%
Ecuador	10%
Guatemala	10%
Honduras	10%
Madagascar	47%
Myanmar (Burma)	44%
Tunisia	28%
Kazakhstan	27%
Serbia	37%
Egypt	10%
Saudi Arabia	10%
El Salvador	10%
Côte d’Ivoire	21%
Laos	48%
Botswana	37%
Trinidad and Tobago	10%
Morocco	10%
Algeria	30%
Oman	10%
Uruguay	10%
Bahamas	10%
Lesotho	50%
Ukraine	10%
Bahrain	10%
Qatar	10%
Mauritius	40%
Fiji	32%
Iceland	10%
Kenya	10%
Liechtenstein	37%
Guyana	38%
Haiti	10%
Bosnia and Herzegovina	35%
Nigeria	14%
Namibia	21%
Brunei	24%
Bolivia	10%
Panama	10%
Venezuela	15%
North Macedonia	33%
Ethiopia	10%
Ghana	10%
Moldova	31%
Angola	32%
Democratic Republic of the Congo	11%
Jamaica	10%
Mozambique	16%
Paraguay	10%
Zambia	17%
Lebanon	10%
Tanzania	10%
Iraq	39%
Georgia	10%
Senegal	10%
Azerbaijan	10%
Cameroon	11%
Uganda	10%
Albania	10%
Armenia	10%
Nepal	10%
Sint Maarten	10%
Falkland Islands	41%
Gabon	10%
Kuwait	10%
Togo	10%
Suriname	10%
Belize	10%
Papua New Guinea	10%
Malawi	17%
Liberia	10%
British Virgin Islands	10%
Afghanistan	10%
Zimbabwe	18%
Benin	10%
Barbados	10%
Monaco	10%
Syria	41%
Uzbekistan	10%
Republic of the Congo	10%
Djibouti	10%
French Polynesia	10%
Cayman Islands	10%
Kosovo	10%
Curaçao	10%
Vanuatu	22%
Rwanda	10%
Sierra Leone	10%
Mongolia	10%
San Marino	10%
Antigua and Barbuda	10%
Bermuda	10%
Eswatini	10%
Marshall Islands	10%
Saint Pierre and Miquelon	50%
Saint Kitts and Nevis	10%
Turkmenistan	10%
Grenada	10%
Sudan	10%
Turks and Caicos Islands	10%
Aruba	10%
Montenegro	10%
Saint Helena	10%
Kyrgyzstan	10%
Yemen	10%
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	10%
Niger	10%
Saint Lucia	10%
Nauru	30%
Equatorial Guinea	13%
Iran	10%
Libya	31%
Samoa	10%
Guinea	10%
Timor-Leste	10%
Montserrat	10%
Chad	13%
Mali	10%
Maldives	10%
Tajikistan	10%
Cabo Verde	10%
Burundi	10%
Guadeloupe	10%
Bhutan	10%
Martinique	10%
Tonga	10%
Mauritania	10%
Dominica	10%
Micronesia	10%
Gambia	10%
French Guiana	10%
Christmas Island	10%
Andorra	10%
Central African Republic	10%
Solomon Islands	10%
Mayotte	10%
Anguilla	10%
Cocos (Keeling) Islands	10%
Eritrea	10%
Cook Islands	10%
South Sudan	10%
Comoros	10%
Kiribati	10%
São Tomé and Príncipe	10%
Norfolk Island	29%
Gibraltar	10%
Tuvalu	10%
British Indian Ocean Territory	10%
Tokelau	10%
Guinea-Bissau	10%
Svalbard and Jan Mayen	10%
Heard and McDonald Islands	10%
Réunion	37%