A small group of poorer countries hit hardest by Trump's tariffs, reason unclear

Last night, President Trump announced increased tariffs on a number of countries with which the US has not yet concluded a new trade deal. They missed the August 1st deadline imposed by Trump.

What's striking is that the highest tariffs have been imposed on a group of small, relatively poor countries: Laos, Myanmar, and Syria. They face staggering levies of 40, 40, and 41 percent, respectively.

The White House has not yet commented on why they, in particular, are facing such high tariffs. US trade with all three countries is small compared to other trading partners. However, "their limited market access, low purchasing power, and close ties to China" may be factors, trade expert Deborah Elms told the BBC .

The US does have a trade deficit with Laos, Myanmar, and Syria. So the US imports more than it exports. However, in all three cases, the trade deficit is modest, especially compared to trade deficits with other countries, which often amount to many billions of dollars.

Trump believes that America is being "exploited" by those countries. He promises that his tariffs will result in more products being made in the US and that factories will return to America. According to the US president, this could ultimately lead to other countries earning less from the US.

A Chinese TikToker previously created this AI video to mock Americans working in factories:

From Laos, a Southeast Asian country with fewer than 8 million inhabitants, the US imports primarily household and medical appliances, some furniture, and clothing. Last year, this amounted to a total of $803 million.

Conversely, Laos imports just over $40 million worth of products from the US, including wastepaper and medicines. This results in a net trade deficit of nearly $763 million for the Americans.

They also have a trade deficit with Myanmar, Laos' neighbor. From Myanmar (population 55 million), the US imports primarily textiles, clothing, and agricultural products, totaling $656 million in 2024. Conversely, the Asian country imports animal feed, grains, and aircraft parts ($77 million). In short, a trade deficit of nearly $580 million.

Trade with Syria (population around 25 million) is even smaller. Officially, there has been no import or export between the two countries in recent years. This is due to sanctions imposed by the US since 2011 to hit the Assad regime in the pocketbook. That regime fell on December 8th.

It is estimated that there was some trade last year, worth about $11 million (exports to the US, items such as sculpture and building blocks) and about $2 million (imports from the US, mainly seeds, grains and medical equipment).

Those amounts are likely to rise. Trump signed an executive order in early July lifting most sanctions against Syria. He thereby supports the new government led by Abu Mohammed al-Jolani. The EU also scrapped sanctions.

The exact reason why the US is imposing such high taxes on the three small countries remains a mystery. According to economist Simon Evenett, it could be a very simple reason. He suspects that Trump's officials didn't necessarily want to punish the three, but that amid the intense trade war with dozens of countries, they didn't have time for the smaller ones and therefore, for appearance's sake, simply slapped a high tariff on them for the time being.