On April 5, the Washington Post reported that after Trump took office as the US president, government economic staff began a challenging task: determining tariff rates for dozens of countries to fulfill his campaign promise of establishing "reciprocal" trade barriers.

After weeks of work, assistants from several government agencies developed a list of options covering various trade practices. However, Trump personally chose a formula based on two simple variables. Sources said it was unclear who proposed this option, but it bears a surprising similarity to the method published by Navarro, a hardline economic advisor during Trump's first term.

On Wednesday, after the tariff measures were announced, the market plummeted, and this rough calculation was ridiculed by economists. The report also stated that after discussions late Tuesday night, Trump only decided on the final plan around 1 PM on Wednesday—less than three hours before his announcement in the Rose Garden. (Jinshi)