Where Global Tariffs Are Highest And Lowest [Infographic]

Trump's move to impose those tariffs on Chinese imports, as well as placing duties on steel and aluminum imports, breaks with long-standing U.S. trade policy. The U.S. has consistently been in favor of lowering tariffs and removing barriers to cross-border trade. Today, the U.S. applies a weighted average tariff of 1.6 percent on its imports, one of the lowest rates worldwide, according to World Bank data. That's equivalent to the EU and a rate similar to Japan. It is important to bear in mind that the rates reported by The World Bank refer to 2016 and are weighted by product import shares without taking specific trade deals such as NAFTA into account.

Even though most developed countries have pushed for lower tariffs in recent years, there are still many parts of the globe where they remain extremely high. Among other major global economies, India imposes weighted average tariffs of 6.3 percent while China's rate is 3.5 percent. Some of the highest import duties can be found in Africa and Gabon stands out with 16.93 percent. The country with the highest weighted-average tariff worldwide is the Bahamas at 18.6 percent.

Fears of a global trade war have heightened after China said it intends to retaliate against U.S. tariffs by imposing its own import duties on American products including pork, apples and steel pipes. President Trump signed an executive memorandum on Thursday that would impose tariffs on up to $60 billion of Chinese products, a move designed to penalize China for alleged intellectual property theft. Beijing has responded by saying that while it does not want a trade war, it is "absolutely not afraid" of one. Stock markets dropped sharply after China's response with Japan's Nikkei share index sinking 4.5 percent and the Dow Jones falling 2.9 percent.

Trump's move to impose those tariffs on Chinese imports, as well as placing duties on steel and aluminum imports, breaks with long-standing U.S. trade policy. The U.S. has consistently been in favor of lowering tariffs and removing barriers to cross-border trade. Today, the U.S. applies a weighted average tariff of 1.6 percent on its imports, one of the lowest rates worldwide, according to World Bank data. That's equivalent to the EU and a rate similar to Japan. It is important to bear in mind that the rates reported by The World Bank refer to 2016 and are weighted by product import shares without taking specific trade deals such as NAFTA into account.

Even though most developed countries have pushed for lower tariffs in recent years, there are still many parts of the globe where they remain extremely high. Among other major global economies, India imposes weighted average tariffs of 6.3 percent while China's rate is 3.5 percent. Some of the highest import duties can be found in Africa and Gabon stands out with 16.93 percent. The country with the highest weighted-average tariff worldwide is the Bahamas at 18.6 percent.