Its still a mystery who came up with President Trumps Liberation Day tariff formula

WASHINGTON — No one is ready to take credit for the formula that President Trump used to calculate his “Liberation Day” tariffs — which slapped steep levies on key allies and huge taxes on goods from countries like Cambodia and Madagascar.The chief architect of the math remains a “mystery,” White House sources told The Post.But at the heart of the decision-making is Trump himself — who has agitated for tough tariffs for more than 40 years.Trump, 78, used his core economic team as his “sounding board” a day before walloping the world — and likely US consumers — with the 10% base tariff and hitting the “worst offenders” with a higher rate.The European Union received a new 20% tariff, Israel 17%, Japan 24%, South Korea 25% and Vietnam 46%.Officials involved in the tariff package upending US trade relations included Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, sources said.Officials have offered seemingly conflicting details about the genesis of the formula, which roughly correlates tariffs to half of the current US trade deficits with each country.That’s how Cambodia ended up with a 49% tariff on all exports to the US, and Madagascar — which produces 80% of the world’s vanilla beans — is looking at a 47% levy.“Trump used everyone as a sounding board until the very last minute,” one source close to the White House told The Post, adding that the official who crafted the formula for correcting trade discrepancies — not strictly tariffs — was a “mystery to everyone I ask or they’re keeping a secret.”White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said before the announcement that Trump was meeting with his trade and tariff team ironing out the final plans.Multiple administration officials similarly told The Post they either didn’t know the answer or didn’t respond to inquiries.And some have given contradictory hint...