NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Long-threatened from U.S. President have plunged the country into a trade war abroad 鈥� all while on-again, off-again new levies continue to escalate uncertainty.
Trump is no stranger to tariffs. He also launched a trade war during his first term in office, but has more sweeping plans now. Economists stress there on businesses and economies worldwide this time 鈥� and that higher prices will likely leave .
There's also been a sense of whiplash from Trump's back-and-forth tariff threats and responding retaliation, including for some goods from Canada and Mexico that followed a . The uncertainty has , lowered consumer confidence, and with questions that could delay hiring and investment.
Here's a timeline of how we got here:
Trump's first term
Trump during his first term in office 鈥� taking .
The two countries exchange a , with Trump putting tariffs on most Chinese goods and Beijing responding with its own retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products ranging from fruit, soybeans and wine to aircraft, automotive and chemical imports.
Separately, Trump slaps tariffs on imported solar panels and washing machines. And in 2018, he escalates tensions with other trading partners by imposing taxes of 25% on imported steel and 10% on aluminum imports. He also uses the threat of more tariffs to force Canada and Mexico to , called the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, in 2020.
Tariffs under Biden
President Joe Biden most of the tariffs Trump previously enacted against China, but his administration claims to take a .
In October 2022, he issues on selling semiconductors and chipmaking equipment to China. These curbs will be expanded in October 2023 and 鈥� when China of U.S. exports for various high-tech materials like gallium and germanium.
Biden also on Chinese electric vehicles, solar cells, steel, aluminum and medical equipment in May 2024. And in July, he on steel and aluminum shipped from Mexico but made elsewhere in an attempt to stop China from circumventing import taxes.
November 2024
Trump . He continues to in the coming weeks and months leading up to his first day back in office.
January 20
. In his , he again promises to 鈥渢ariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens." And he reiterates plans to , which has yet to be established.
On his first day in office, Trump also says he starting on Feb. 1, while declining to immediately flesh out plans for taxing Chinese imports.
January 26
Trump on all Colombia imports and after President Gustavo Petro鈥檚 rejects two U.S. military aircraft carrying migrants to the country, accusing Trump of not treating immigrants with dignity during deportation.
In response, Petro also announces a retaliatory 25% increase in Colombian tariffs on U.S. goods. But Colombia later reversed its decision and carrying migrants. The two countries soon signaled a halt in .
February 1
Trump to impose tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada and China 鈥� 10% on all imports from China and 25% on imports from Mexico and Canada . Trump by declaring a national emergency 鈥� ostensibly over . The levies on Canada and Mexico threaten to blow up Trump鈥檚 own USMCA trade deal, which allowed many products to cross North American borders duty free.
The action prompts swift outrage from all three countries, with promises of retaliatory measures.
February 3
Trump on his tariff threats against Mexico and Canada, with both trading partners taking steps to appease Trump's concerns about border security and drug trafficking.
February 4
Trump's new 10% tariffs on all Chinese imports to the U.S. . China by announcing a flurry of countermeasures, including sweeping new duties on a variety of American goods and an .
China's 15% tariffs on coal and liquefied natural gas products, and a 10% levy on crude oil, agricultural machinery and large-engine cars imported from the U.S., .
February 10
Trump announces plans . He removes the exemptions from his 2018 tariffs on steel, meaning that all steel imports will be taxed at a minimum of 25%, his 2018 aluminum tariffs to 25% from 10% set to go into effect March 12.
February 13
Trump announces a 鈥� promising to increase U.S. tariffs to match the tax rates that other countries charge on imports 鈥渇or purposes of fairness.鈥� Economists warn that the reciprocal tariffs, set to overturn decades of trade policy, could .
Beyond China, Canada and Mexico, he indicates that additional countries, , won鈥檛 be spared from higher tariffs. And in the following weeks, Trump that European countries could face a 25% levy as part of these efforts.
February 25
Trump signed an executive order instructing the Commerce Department to consider whether a tariff on imported copper is needed . He cites the material's use in U.S. defense, infrastructure and emerging technologies.
March 1
Trump signs an additional executive order instructing the Commerce Department whether tariffs on lumber and timber are also needed to protect national security, arguing that the construction industry and military depend on a strong supply of wooden products in the U.S.
March 4
Trump鈥檚 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico , though he limits the levy to 10% on Canadian energy. He also doubles the tariff on all Chinese imports to 20%.
All three countries promise retaliatory measures. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces tariffs on more than $100 billion of American goods over the course of 21 days. And Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum says her country would respond on U.S. goods without specifying the targeted products immediately, signaling hopes to de-escalate.
China, meanwhile, on a wide array of key U.S. farm exports. It also expands the number of U.S. companies subject to export controls and other restrictions by about two dozen.
March 5
Trump grants a one-month exemption on his new tariffs impacting goods from Mexico and Canada . The pause arrives after the president spoke with leaders of the 鈥淏ig 3鈥� automakers 鈥� Ford, General Motors and Stellantis.
March 6
In a wider extension, Trump 25% tariffs on many imports from Mexico and some imports from Canada for a month. But he still plans to impose 鈥渞eciprocal鈥� tariffs starting on April 2.
Trump credited Sheinbaum with making progress on border security and drug smuggling as a reason for again pausing tariffs 鈥� and the Mexican president said in a post on X that she and Trump 鈥渉ad an excellent and respectful call in which we agreed that our work and collaboration have yielded unprecedented results.鈥�
Trump鈥檚 actions also thawed relations with Canada somewhat, although remains. Still, after its initial retaliatory tariffs of $30 billion Canadian (US$21 billion) on U.S. goods, the government said it had suspended its second wave of retaliatory tariffs worth $125 billion Canadian (US$87 billion).
March 10
China retaliates against Trump鈥檚 tariffs by imposing additional 15% taxes on key American farm products, including chicken, pork, soybeans and beef. The escalating trade tensions push stocks lower on Monday as investors worry about the pain Trump鈥檚 trade wars risk inflicting on the American economy.
The Chinese tariffs were a response to Trump鈥檚 decision to double the levy on Chinese imports to 20% on March 4. China鈥檚 Commerce Ministry had earlier said that goods already in transit would be exempt from the retaliatory tariffs until April 12.
March 12
Trump increases tariffs on to 25%, on the metals in addition to increasing the tariffs on aluminum from 10%.
The European Union takes with new duties on U.S. industrial and farm products. The measures will cover goods from the United States worth some 26 billion euros ($28 billion), and not just steel and aluminum products, but also textiles, home appliances and agricultural goods. Motorcycles, bourbon, peanut butter and jeans will be hit, as they were during Trump鈥檚 first term.
Wyatte Grantham-philips, The Associated Press
