President Donald Trump has made clear from very early in his second term that he intends to reorder global trade  by instilling permanent tariffs. More than a year later, his government has proven relentless in its attempt. Compounding the growing inflationary pressures from his ill-conceived war in Iran, Trump on Friday set a new round of tariffs ranging from 10% to 12.5% on products from more than 80 countries.

But like other aspects of the administration’s signature policies — from bogus Justice Department investigations to unfounded claims of widespread national voter fraud — the stated reasons behind the administration’s freshest round of tariffs smell like a sham, a former trade official and international trade policy expert told TPM.