False. Trump confused trade deficits with foreign tariff rates. His infamous April 2025 reciprocal tariff chart was based on trade deficits, not tariff rates. For example, he imposed "reciprocal" tariffs against Heard Island and McDonald Islands, remote islands inhabited mainly by penguins and seals. American Enterprise Institute +1

In other cases, tariffs were threatened or imposed based on his feelings rather than economic negotiations. For example, Trump threatened a 10% tariff against Canada after it aired a television ad critical of him. The Associated Press