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.
Since taking office less than two months ago, Trump has rolled out hefty import taxes on goods coming from America's three biggest trading partners 鈥� 鈥� and promises that more targets are on the horizon.
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 affecting hundreds of billions of dollars鈥� worth of goods. The dispute centers around U.S. allegations that China deploys underhanded tactics 鈥� including stealing trade secrets and pressuring U.S. companies to hand over sensitive technology 鈥� in an effort to supplant the U.S. in advanced fields such as quantum computing and automated cars.
Trump puts tariffs on most Chinese goods. Meanwhile, Beijing responds 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 imposes taxes of 25% on imported steel and 10% on aluminum imports , escalating tensions with other trading partners. 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.
2024 campaign trail promises
Biden's 2024 tariff moves come in the middle of a heated presidential campaign 鈥� with both Biden and Trump in attempts to show who's tougher on China.
On the campaign trail, Trump says that he plans to impose tariffs of on all Chinese imports if he wins a second term. He also of a tariff of up to 20% on everything else the U.S. imports while threatening to impose even bigger levies or manufacturers that
While the Biden-Harris administration uses tariffs to target China, both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris 鈥� who becomes the Democratic nominee after Biden 鈥� maintain that Trump鈥檚 promise of more broad tariffs worldwide would be a mistake. Harris labels Trump's call for tariffs as a 鈥� with her campaign later that a 20% tariff applied across the board would raise expenses for a typical family by almost $4,000 annually.
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).
Wyatte Grantham-philips, The Associated Press
