An eye for an eye? President Trump recently announced the U.S. is instituting “reciprocal tariffs,” or taxing imports from other countries at the same rate that those countries tax American-made goods.  

Or, in the President’s words, “they do it to us, we do it to them… can’t get simpler than that.” It really can’t.  

On Substack, the reporter Sharyl Attkisson took a few popular, everyday products from Canada, Mexico, China, and the EU to find out how President Trump’s previous tariffs would affect the cost for consumers.  

With the recent news of reciprocal tariffs, No Labels updated Attkisson’s figures. How much would each of these products – picked by Attkisson – cost if the U.S. taxed them at the same rate other countries tax American goods

Mexico: Avocados 

Mexico supplies over a quarter of America’s fruits and vegetables, including the majority of avocados. The International Trade Centre (ITC) reports that Mexico applies a zero percent tariff on American-grown avocados. That’s nice of them!  

  • If a typical avocado costs $1.50, and President Trump enacts a reciprocal tariff of zero percent… the price will go unchanged.  
  • If President Trump applies the 25 percent tariff on Mexican goods like he pledged, you might pay an extra 38 cents bringing the total to $1.98 

Canada: Crude Oil  

About 60 percent of America’s oil comes from our neighbor to the north. The ITC reports that Canada applies a zero percent tariff on oil imports from America, or from anywhere for that matter.  

  • If a barrel of Canadian crude oil costs $60, the price won’t change with a zero percent reciprocal tariff.  
  • If President Trump applies the 10 percent tariff he pledged for Canadian energy products, oil importers will pay an extra $6 bringing the total to $66, and your gasoline prices might go up a few cents per gallon. 

China: Flat-Screen TVs 

China is the second-biggest supplier of TVs to Americans, trailing only Mexico. The ITC reports that China charges a 10 percent tariff on TVs made in America. 

  • If a new TV costs $400, a 10 percent reciprocal tariff would bump the price up by $40, bringing the total to $440.  
  • President Trump previously implemented a 20 percent tariff on all Chinese imports. If he stuck with that instead of going reciprocal, the new TV would go up $80 to a total of $480. 

European Union: Whiskey 

Whether it’s cognac, scotch, or Jameson, European whiskeys could get pricey in the coming weeks and months. The EU recently threatened to impose a 50 percent tariff on American whiskey.  

  • If a bottle of French cognac costs $50, a 50 percent reciprocal tariff would increase the price by $25, bringing your total to $75.  
  • President Trump upped the ante, threatening to tax all European alcohols at 200 percent. That French cognac would cost you $100 in total, better make it last!  

Other Items  

Of course, these are just some examples Attkisson picked before President Trump announced the reciprocal tariff strategy. On average, the President says America’s tariff rates will be higher than they are now. 

While we currently charge Chinese goods at 2.9 percent, for example, President Trump said the new average will be 34 percent… a big jump, but still a long shot from the 67 percent China charges for American goods (through a combination of tariffs and other regulatory barriers, according to the White House.) 

While European products currently get taxed at 1.9 percent, President Trump plans to bump that up to 20 percent… one point higher than what Europe charges us, on average.  

So while some things might get cheaper, others could get more expensive. Be sure to double-check the price next time you go shopping.