PolitiFact is reporting that after a Supreme Court loss, President Donald Trump's tariffs have bounced back. It said Trump is employing various legal tactics to justify tariffs after the Supreme Court invalidated the legal authority he cited soon after taking office. While the resulting levies are not as high or broad as initially sought, trade experts believe Trump has made significant strides toward his original policy aims. Tariffs are currently between their level when Trump took office and their peak in early 2025. Tax Foundation senior economist Erica York said tariffs have been slowly climbing and may continue to rise.
The average U.S. tariff rate is 7.2%, according to the Tax Foundation, which is higher than any time since 1967, excluding a spike in early 2025. PolitiFact said the average tariff rate adjusted for the total value of shipped goods has increased from 2.8% when Trump took office to 12.5% today. A majority of U.S. imports now have a tariff, though exceptions exist for some agricultural products, generic pharmaceuticals and other items. Ross Burkhart, a Boise State University political scientist, noted that the number of countries subjected to tariffs has decreased, but for many of the United States' biggest trade partners, including the European Union, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom, the basic tariff rate generally ranges from 10% to 12.5%.
PolitiFact is also reporting that online conspiracy theories claiming horse meat is being covertly sold as beef in U.S. supermarkets are false. It said these theories emerged following President Trump's comments about striking a deal to ease U.S. beef prices and recent reports about slaughtered horses. A U.S. Department of Agriculture spokesperson told PolitiFact that the U.S. does not import horse meat for human consumption, and selling horse meat as beef is illegal. The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service inspects all imported meat, including laboratory sampling to confirm the species. Horse meat imports for human consumption are banned in the U.S. PolitiFact rated the claim False.