In a move that surprised many, President Trump recently imposed a substantial tariff on the European Union (EU), claiming that the EU was designed to harm the American economy. There have been numerous public debates about the impact of import tariffs on the economy, resulting in a lot of misinformation. We decided to conduct our own research and examine the history of tariffs between the EU and the U.S., since the EU was established in 1993.

Tariffs are a complex tapestry, and not all goods receive the same tariff rates. For example, since 1993, the EU has imposed a tariff on U.S. milk, while the U.S. applied only a 20% tariff on European milk. But does this tell the whole story? Does the tariff rate matter if no imports are occurring? Not really—after all, 100% of zero dollars is still zero.