What A Day - If Tariffs Are So Great, Why Are There So Many Exemptions?

Episode Date: December 15, 2025

President Donald Trump loves tariffs. But according to a new analysis from Politico, more than half of US imports right now are not subjected to them. To find out why, we spoke to Paroma Soni. She's a data and graphics reporter at Politico, where she covers trade, immigration, agriculture and politics.And later in the show, two mass shootings occurred over the weekend — one in Sydney, Australia and another at Brown University in Rhode Island. We talk to Talib Reddick, president of Brown University's Undergraduate Council of Students.In headlines, peace discussions continue on how to end Russia's war in Ukraine, Republicans scramble to pass healthcare legislation before the end of the year, and some GOP members want to introduce new affordability legislation to save their seats in the midterms. Show Notes:Check out Paroma's piece – https://tinyurl.com/2kvmep2fCall Congress – 202-224-3121Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It's Monday, December 15th. I'm Jane Koston, and this is what a day, the show asking President Donald Trump to move on.org. The election was rigged in 2020. We have all the ammunition, all the stuff, and you'll see it come out. It's coming out in truckloads. Look, we all have things we can't quite get over. The series finale of The Sopranos. The time we spent watching cruel intentions, too. But Mr. President, it's been more than five years. There's a lot going on right now. Time to pack it up. On today's show, Republicans scramble to pass health care legislation before the end of the year. And two mass shootings occurred over the weekend, one in Sydney, Australia, and another at Brown University in Rhode Island. We talked to Brown University's student body president later in the show.

But let's start with tariffs. Donald Trump loves tariffs. He'd take a tariff on a date. he'd even pay. He loves tariffs so much, then on Tuesday he went on a loving tangent about them at a rally in Pennsylvania. Remember when I said tariff? My favorite word is tariff. True. But then I got a lot of heat from the fake news. Look at all of them back there. He's also very upset that apparently you don't love tariffs. You asshole. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Friday, he told the paper that he didn't know voters would understand that all of his effort

on the economy was good and awesome. He said, quote, I've created the greatest economy in history, but it may take people a while to figure all these things out. He went on to say, quote, all this money that's pouring into our country is building things right now, car plants, AI, lots of stuff. I cannot tell you how that's going to equate to the voter. All I can do is do my job, his job, which apparently is making tariffs. But here's my question. If tariffs are so great, why are there so many exemptions? According to a new analysis from Politico, more than half of U.S. imports are not getting hit by the president's emergency tariffs. Tariffs that Trump has said are the only thing standing between us in, quote, 1929 all over again, a great depression.

So, why so many exemptions? To find out, I spoke to Peroma Sony. She's a data and graphics reporter at Politico, where she covers trade, immigration, agriculture, and politics. Peroma, welcome to what a day. Thank you. I'm happy to be here. So President Trump first unveiled these widespread reciprocal tariffs back in April. What countries did they apply to? And I think more importantly, what were they supposed to do?

So the reciprocal tariffs, they were called Liberation Day tariffs, they applied to almost every country in the world. Yes. And I believe a country that was just penguins. Correct. There were some small uninhabited islands that were facing tariffs around 50%. with the exception of four or five countries, all countries were tariffed at a baseline of 10%, and then about 60 countries had higher tariffs. And it was an effort by Donald Trump to sort of address the growing trade deficit that the U.S.

has with a lot of different countries. He declared this widening trade deficit as a national emergency, and he used this law from the 1970s called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose these blanket tariffs. on most of the world. And what they were supposed to do was essentially rebalance America's trade deficit. He said it would raise revenue, it would boost manufacturing, among other things. I noticed that you used air quotes when you said rebalance, because I'm going to guess that you and I both understand that having a trade deficit isn't like a bad thing. Like I have a trade deficit with my grocery store. I have never sold them anything. Right. And then partly the reason

why you have trade deficits. So the way that trade around the world works is that you have to import some things, especially things that you do not produce in your own country, and then you export the things that you have a surplus off. I mean, this is a simple way of explaining that trade relationship. But, you know, there are some things, like critical minerals that are largely found in countries like China. And so they dominate that market. And if you need those, which are materials that you use in everything, from like computers to phones to missiles, systems or, you know, TVs, you're going to need to import that from countries that do produce it. And you may or may not export the same amount of something else, but that's how a trade

deficit works. And the idea of global trade starting in the 60s 70s is that system of reciprocity. Were there any products exempted from those tariffs at the time? When he initially announced the reciprocal tariffs, there was not a lot of guidance on what would and would not be included. You know, it created a massive crash in the global stock market. And so the tariffs were subsequently paused for, I think, about three months, giving countries time to negotiate their rates. In that time, I think he negotiated eight trade deals with eight countries. They had outlined some exemptions. Not all of them went into effect. But for the most part, they were blanket tariffs applied to all goods coming from all countries, except for like

North Korea, Cuba, Russia and Belarus. Canada and Mexico. So how quickly did the rules around these tariffs start to change? Because I've been really interested in how now there's more than a trillion dollars of exemptions to these tariffs. So Trump first announced exemptions in September. And on that list were a number of like industrial materials and some critical minerals and infrastructure stuff that totaled about $280 billion. That was our political analysis estimate based on import levels for from 2024. And then in November, they exempted another $250 billion of goods that were mostly agricultural, including things like bananas, coffee, beef, some of which are not widely produced

in the U.S. Was that kind of the main reason for that? Because I could imagine that, like, putting tariffs on coffee so that you're going to help American coffee growers is going to be tough when coffee isn't really grown that much in America. Right. And that's exactly what what it was. You know, a lot of economists already had that criticism as soon as these tariffs were announced. And I think bit by bit, the Trump administration had implemented these broad tariffs and then realized that it was not actually benefiting American consumers or, like, the cost of tariffs was not being born by foreign exporters, which is something that the Trump administration has said again and again. And as grocery prices and food prices keep going up, they started adding these carve-outs for

things that either don't grow here or that are hard to manufacture without a certain import from another country. So these tariffs are technically still in place. They haven't been repealed, but their scope has been continuously modified and shifted over the course of the past eight months. As we head into the new year, how many products are still subject to Trump's universal 10% tariffs? Our analysis found that about $1.7 trillion are excluded from the AIPA tariffs, the

emergency law that I was mentioning earlier, and about $1.6 trillion are still subject to them. But I will note that those tariffs that I'm talking about are not just the reciprocal tariffs. Trump also used this law to implement emergency tariffs on Canada and Mexico. So Canada and Mexico don't face the reciprocal tariffs, but they face another tariff over what Trump calls, you know, the fentanyl smuggling across the land borders of the U.S. China also faces a fentanyl tariff, which is an additional. to the 10% baseline. So all of those tariffs are included in political's analysis. And we found that in practice, about half of them are excluded. What do you think that means for Trump's overall

economic message? Like, he loves tariffs. He thinks tariffs are great. But he also needs to put all these exemptions to tariffs because they're doing bad things to the American consumer. So are these tariffs doing what this administration wants them to do? That is the question, right? That is the big question to be asked. The Trump administration has repeatedly promised that these tariffs would do all these great things. And then when you find out that, you know, over time, about half of the imports of the U.S. are excluded from these tariffs. And so it does, in some sense, undercut these promises to raise revenue. It also undercuts his messaging that these are widespread that they're going to affect every single country, every single product, because that's not true. And, you know, they are

making more and more trade deals, but as you have more and more products exempted from it, it's sort of a retreat in principle, as one of our sources put it. These reciprocal tariffs are also the subject of a Supreme Court case weighing the president's use of that in 1977 emergency powers law you've referenced, a law that Trump believes can allow him to unilaterally impose tariffs. We are still waiting on the justices to make that decision, but if they rule against the Trump administration, is there a chance these reciprocal tariffs just go away? Yeah, I mean, if the Supreme Court rules that Trump exceeded his authority in using the

law to enact these tariffs, they might strike down all of the reciprocal tariffs, as well as the fentanyl tariffs on Canada and Mexico, as well as these other tariffs that they've put on India over their purchase of Russian oil, and they've put tariffs on Brazil over the treatment of their former president Bolsonaro. and then the Trump administration would owe refunds to all of the U.S. businesses that have been paying these tariffs over the last few months. Which would be very expensive. It would be very expensive.

Going into 2026, how could Trump's tariff policies continue to change? Is there an end date for any of the trade agreements or the exemptions? You know, given the sheer amount of volatility in this last year, I don't know. And I don't know that anyone really knows because the policy. have been changing sometimes two or three times in the same week. And so it has raised revenue. It has done to some extent what Trump said it would or that he wanted it to. And he has been also using it as a form of leverage to other governments to make more financial investments into the U.S. or to come to the negotiating table. And so it largely seems like it's a negotiation tool

more than it is an economic policy. But as far as an end date, I don't think that anyone can really know what the Trump administration is planning. Peroma, thank you so much for joining me. Absolutely. This was a real pleasure. Glad to have helped a little bit. That was my conversation with Peroma, Sony,

a data and graphics reporter at Politico. You can check out her article in the show notes. We'll get to more of the news in a moment, but if you like the show, make sure to subscribe, leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, Watch us on YouTube and share with your friends. More to come after some ads. What a day is brought to you by ORAFrames.

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so order yours now to get it in time for the holidays. Support the show by mentioning us at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. Here's what else we're following today. What we saw yesterday was an active pure evil, an act of anti-Semitism, an act of terrorism on our shores in an iconic Australian location, Bondi Beach. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese denounced Sunday's deadly shooting attack at a Hanukkah

celebration on Sydney's Bondi Beach. The attack is the country's deadliest mass shooting in nearly three decades. The police confirmed that two gunmen opened fire Sunday evening during the Hanukkah by the sea event. at the time of this recording 15 people between the ages of 10 and 87 had died and more than 40 others were injured one gunman a 50-year-old man was fatally shot by police while the other attacker his 24-year-old son was wounded and taken into custody authorities say one of the shooters was known to security services though there was no prior indication of a planned attack police said two improvised explosive devices were discovered at the scene and authorities later found six firearms at the property with a 50-year-old gunman have been staying. Our problem is not with Republicans. Our problem has been with Democrats. But, of course, they may say that about us.

So what I am kind of searching for is a deal in which both have their concerns addressed. And I would like a pony. Louisiana Republican Senator Bill Cassidy told CBS's face the nation Sunday that Democrats and Republicans need to put their minds together and push for a deal that addresses the looming health care crisis. Cassidy reiterated his point on CNN's State of the Union Sunday, busy guy, by suggesting a compromise is possible. Republicans have pushed that we would put money in the patient's pocket so that she has something to pay the out-of-pocket. Democrats are saying, let's do something about premiums.

I think, Donna, there is a deal that could be made. Why don't we do both? CBS's Margaret Brennan later asked Virginia Democratic Senator Mark Warner about Cassidy's idea, which could kick the can into next year. Would you be on board with that? We've got a crisis that hits as a Monday tomorrow because that's when people have to sign up. He says retroactively you can do it. Well, listen, it's a mess. Once you've signed up or you've dropped out of the system, you know, the idea that you're retroactively going to fix it, fix it now.

So people don't go into Christmas thinking they're going to not know if they're able to afford health care. Today is December 15th, and for many states, it's the last day of open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act healthcare plans. The Senate rejected partisan proposals last week. that were meant to make health care more affordable as enhanced ACA subsidies are set to expire at the end of the year. After the failures in the Senate, Speaker Mike Johnson revealed a House GOP plan to tackle health care costs, which does not include an extension of the enhanced subsidies.

Johnson says the House will vote on it this week. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky will continue discussions today in Berlin on how to end Russia's war in Ukraine. Zelensky, President Trump's special envoy, Steve Whitkoff, son-in-law, Jared Kushner, met for hours on Sunday. Ahead of the meeting, Zelensky suggested he's ready to make compromises, including foregoing

Ukraine's longtime bid to join NATO in exchange for security guarantees from allies like the United States. The concession would be a win for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who sees Ukraine's desire to join the alliance as a major threat to Moscow security. But Zelensky has rejected a push by the U.S. for Ukraine to cede territory to Russia. The U.S. has been weighing both Russia's and Ukraine's demands, as Trump, who wants to be known as the peace president, presses for a swift end to the war. The search for possible compromises has run into major obstacles, including control of Ukraine's

Eastern Donetsk region, which is mostly occupied by Russian forces. Affordability is the ghost haunting the Republican Party, and it's not a friendly ghost. While Trump waves off affordability as a Democratic hoax, members of his own party are wondering whether they need to introduce new legislation to avoid getting clobbered in the midterms. Last week, Trump downplayed the need for another legislative package. He said Republicans, quote, got everything they needed from the big Republican spending a lot debacle disaster adventure passed earlier this year. But according to the Hill, some Republicans argue the party didn't sell its mega bill well

enough, and others warned Democrats could gain popularity if the GOP doesn't fix the soaring cost of health care. Louisiana Republican Senator John Kennedy took to the House floor on Thursday to argue Republicans should pursue another budget reconciliation bill to tackle affordability. He was cool, calm, collected, and very normal in his call for House leadership to bring such legislation to the floor. Pretty pleased. We sugar on top. I'll add a cherry. I've even got an old McDonald's McRibbs coupon somewhere. I'll add, I'll throw that in the mix too. Please bring another reconciliation bill. Two things. One. That man went to Oxford University.

Two, nothing reassures voters struggling with rent and groceries quite like a legislative pitch anchored to a limited-time McDonald's sandwich. And that's the news. One more. On Saturday evening, Brown University was subject to a tragedy we have become way, way, way to accustomed to in America, a mass shooting. In a room on campus designated for an economics final exam review session, a gunman walked in and started shooting, killing two students and injuring nine.

The entire campus was put under lockdown for 12 hours, as students sheltered in place and tried to figure out what the hell happened. As of our recording time on Sunday, there's a lot of details we don't know. Talib Reddick is president of Brown's undergraduate council of students. He was in his dorm room on campus when the shooting took place. I spoke to him on Sunday. Talib Reddick, welcome to Wadda Day. Thank you.

Thank you for being here. First and foremost, how are you doing? Yeah, I'm okay. I'm honestly still registering everything that's been happening. A lot of sadness, a lot of stress, but also a lot of community. campus. If you're comfortable sharing, can you talk about where you were when you first learned about what had happened and how you got to safety?

Yes. I was here in my dorm room, actually. I was taking a nap after my final exam for urban politics. I was a little tired, so I took a nap. My mom wakes me up, calling me urgently asking where I am if I was safe, and she told me that there was an active shooter on campus. So you found out from your mom. Yeah, and then I just checked my phone and saw everything.

You mentioned that there's a lot of community on campus. What's the atmosphere like among students right now? Yeah, the atmosphere is like you just got the wind knocked out of you. I mean, it's very, very, not the best. I can tell the students are really upset, very down. I say community because I do see that we're coming together. I mean, we're already a very tight-knit community here on campus, But, of course, through such a traumatic experience, togetherness is really, really important.

What has the university communicated so far? Have classes been canceled? What's expected in regards to, like, the end of the year? Like, what have you learned from the university? The university has sent a lot of communications since this started. They have canceled finals. And so a lot of people are heading home now. I saw a lot of people leaving out with suitcases.

I was supposed to be here, required to be here to the 21st as an R.A. on campus as well to help close out the dorms. But they're saying that we're allowed to leave if we need to. I'm so sorry this happened. Yeah. Yeah. What do you want the university to do, or how could the university make you and your classmates feel safer when they get back to campus? I'm not sure how much they can do. to make us feel safer given the situation.

I mean, I was just sitting at lunch today with some friends and, you know, some of them said, like, how do we go forward from here? Or it'll never be the same. So I'm not sure how much they can truly do, but I know that I will be making it very clear with the university on feedback that I'm hearing from students. I have heard a lot from students on,

what needs to be done. What are you hearing? Yeah, whether it comes to, whether it comes to cameras, like more surveillance, we couldn't see the shooter's face, which I thought was a big issue. I do really appreciate law enforcement's response on campus, but it was just very stressful sitting in lockdown, shelter in place for hours on end. And I mean, I was in here in my dorm without any food. And it was just, it was sickening.

to hear all this stuff and not know whether we were safe or not, and also just hearing about the victims as well. What do you want people outside of the Brown community to understand about what you and other students are experiencing right now? This can happen to anyone, and it's really sad that that's the case here in America. This should not be the case. As someone who also studies politics,

it is always confuse me why this is. a political discussion, why people get so enraged and upset after the shootings and then forget about it after a few weeks, or it just leaves the political discussion and no legislation has passed. And also just hearing so many stories from students, I mean, one of my good friends was the teaching assistant in that class. He was in charge of this class that got shot up. Now, he's back home. Thankfully, he's safe. But so many people have been impacted in so many ways. We've had students here. One survived the Parkland shooting. One also got shot herself years ago, and now she's involved in this. So, yeah, it's just all around. It's very sad.

Talib, thank you so much for joining me and take care of yourself, okay? Thank you so much. Have a good one. That was my conversation with Talib Reddick, President of Brown University's Undergraduate Council of students. That's all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, correctly toss a coin and tell your friends to listen. And if you're under reading, I'm not just about how Donald Trump had the honor of performing the ceremonial coin toss at the annual Army-Navy college football game this weekend and managed to do so without flipping the coin at all? So it just landed. It was very weird, like me. What a day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at cricket.com slash subscribe. I'm Jane Koston, and I didn't even

know it was possible to be bad at tossing a coin. What a Day is a production of Crooked Media. It's recorded and mixed by Desmond Taylor. Our producer is Caitlin Plummer. Our associate producers are Emily Four and Chris Alport. Our video editor is Joseph Dutra. Our video producer is Johanna Case. We had production help today from Greg Walters and Matt Burke.

Our senior producer is Erica Morrison, and our senior vice president of News and Politics is Adrian Hill. We had helped from the Associated Press. Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kashak. Our production staff is proudly unionized with the Writers Guild of America East. Hey all, it's Jane. If you're a regular What a Day listener, you're probably someone who keeps up with a news, a task that's been challenging lately, to say the least. Even I get overwhelmed by the headlines sometimes.

And when I do, I listen to Make Me Smart, a podcast from Marketplace. Throughout the week, host Kimberly Adams breaks down the most important stories in tech, culture, and the economy. And her smart takes make it so easy to see how the headlines actually impact our daily lives. Give it a listen, and I bet you'll find yourself quoting the show to your friends. You can find Make Me Smart on your favorite podcast app.