But the bottom line for importers is that the overall tariff burden on the US economy remains well below where it stood at the beginning of the year. That same measure was 13.86% just before the Supreme Court struck down Trump's blanket tariffs back in February and was above 15% for much of 2025. This gap between current and past rates comes even as a flurry of tariff announcements grabbed headlines in recent days. These exemptions have even led experts to calculate that overall rates could dip slightly in the short term. The Yale Budget Lab's overall effective US tariff rate began the week at 11.3% before dipping to of 11.1% on Friday, but it's set to rise later this year.