Fact-Checkers Challenge Trump's False Trade and Tariff Claims in Speech

President Trump’s April 2 Rose Garden speech announcing global tariffs prompted widespread corrections of his misstatements on trade with Canada, China, and economic history.

• Trump falsely claimed Canadian dairy tariffs exceed 200% after the first product, omitting that USMCA guarantees tens of thousands of metric tons of U.S. dairy exports tariff-free annually.
• The U.S. has not met its tariff-free dairy export quota to Canada, meaning the high tariffs Trump referenced are not being applied.
• Trump inaccurately stated the U.S. trade deficit with Canada is close to $200 billion annually, while official 2024 data shows it is $35.7 billion for goods and services combined.
• Trump repeated the false claim that tariffs on China generated 'hundreds of billions' for the U.S., despite evidence that American importers and consumers bore most of the costs.
• Historical and current data contradict Trump’s assertion that inflation under Biden was the highest in U.S. history and that there was 'virtually no inflation' during his first presidency.

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