Trump accused of using ChatGPT to work out tariffs after user asks AI bot to create plan

A lot of people have been left scratching their heads in the wake of the Trump administration's supposedly nonsensical new tariffs.

On Wednesday (Apr 2), President Trump revealed the hiked tariffs he'll be imposing on almost all countries across the globe.

Everywhere has been hit with a minimum tariff of 10 percent, while other countries are facing their own individual levies, one example being Vietnam that now have a 46 percent tariff on goods it exports to the US.

No one is safe from Trump's tariffs — not even parts of the world that don't actually have anyone living there can get away from them.

Following Trump's announcement earlier this week, many have been left wondering how he and his team came to figure out what percentage to impose on which countries.

One guy took to social media to to share this theory.

James Surowiecki, who previously wrote The Financial Page for The New Yorker, explained on Twitter: "Just figured out where these fake tariff rates come from.

"They didn't actually calculate tariff rates + non-tariff barriers, as they say they did. Instead, for every country, they just took our trade deficit with that country and divided it by the country's exports to us.

"So we have a $17.9 billion trade deficit with Indonesia. Its exports to us are $28 billion. $17.9/$28 = 64%, which Trump claims is the tariff rate Indonesia charges us. What extraordinary nonsense this is."

A trade deficit occurs when a country's imports exceed its exports, FYI.

Now it's been suggested that Trump used ChatGPT for the calculations.

A Twitter urged alleged: "I think they asked ChatGPT to calculate the tariffs from other countries, which is why the tariffs make absolutely no f**king sense.

"They're simply dividing the trade deficit we have with a country with our imports from that country, or using 10%, whichever is greater."

The person proceeded to share a screenshot of a conversation between an anonymous person (presumably them) and a ChatGPT bot, where they asked: "What would be an easy way to calculate the tariffs that should be imposed on other countries so that the US is on even-playing fields when it comes to trade deficit? Set minimum at 10%."

I think they asked ChatGPT to calculate the tariffs from other countries, which is why the tariffs make absolutely no fucking sense.

They're simply dividing the trade deficit we have with a country with our imports from that country, or using 10%, whichever is greater. https://t.co/Rc45V7qxHl pic.twitter.com/SUu2syKbHS

— Destiny | Steven Bonnell II (@TheOmniLiberal) April 2, 2025

The AI bot replied: "To calculate tariffs that help level the playing field in terms of trade deficits (with a minimum tariff of 10%), you can use a proportional tariff formula based on the trade deficit with each country.

"The idea is to impose higher tariffs on countries with which the US has larger trade deficits, thus incentivizing more balanced trade."

According to World Population Review, the US has the largest trade deficit with China, Mexico, and Vietnam, all of which have been hit with some of the highest levies.