Trump's tariff timeline: 118 days of chaos and climbdowns

Irish Independent

29-05-2025

In his inauguration speech on January 20th the incoming US President announced the establishment of an 'External Revenue Service; to collect all tariffs, duties, and revenues, promising 'massive amounts of money pouring into our Treasury, coming from foreign sources'.
He'd imposed tariffs on a relatively smaller scale during his first presidency, though with a focus on specific sectors like steel and aluminium, and as a means of boosting domestic producers. The inauguration speech suggested something on a much larger and more disruptive scale.
Astonishingly, financial markets ignored the clear warnings, hitting record highs at the end of February, just before Trump unveiled his full 'Liberation Day' shopping list of import taxes on almost every nation and territory on the earth.
The unilateral imposition of large tariffs was already well underway by then:
February 1 - Trump imposes 25pc tariffs on Mexican and most Canadian imports and 10pc on goods from China, demanding they curb the flow of fentanyl and illegal immigrants into the United States. February 3 - Trump suspends his threat of tariffs on Mexico and Canada, agreeing to a 30-day pause in return for concessions on border and crime enforcement.
February 7 - Trump delays tariffs on de minimis, or low-cost, packages from China until the Commerce Department can confirm that procedures and systems are in place to process them and collect tariff revenue. February 10 - Trump raises tariffs on steel and aluminum to a flat 25pc March 3 - Trump says 25pc tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada will take effect from March 4 and doubles fentanyl-related tariffs on all Chinese imports to 20pc March 5 - The president agrees to delay tariffs for one month on some vehicles built in Canada and Mexico March 6 - Trump exempts goods from Canada and Mexico under a North American trade pact for a month from the 25pc tariffs. March 26 - Trump unveils a 25pc tariff on all imported cars and light trucks. April 2 - 'Liberation Day' Trump announces global tariffs of at least 10pc across all imports and significantly higher duties many of the United States' biggest trading partners. The European Union is hit with a 20pc tariff. Pharmaceuticals are excluded. April 8 – The tariffs come into force.
April 9 – As turmoil sweeps world financial markets and drives up US borrowing costs Trump pauses most country-specific tariffs for 90 days. The 10pc blanket levy stays in place, including on goods from Ireland and the rest of the EU. But Trump raises tariffs on Chinese imports to 145pc – to all intents an purposes a trade embargo. China responds with its own sweeping tariffs. April 13 - The US says imports of smartphones, computers and some other electronics are tariff free, including from China, the main exporter. April 22 - The Trump administration puts pharmaceuticals and semiconductors back on the agenda, launching investigations into whether dependence on imports is a national security threat. May 4 - Trump says he'll imposes a 100pc tariff on all movies produced outside the US. May 9 - Trump agrees his first trade deal with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. It leaves in place 10pc tariffs on most British but the UK gets some relief from the higher duty on exports of its cars. May 12 - The US and China agree to temporarily bring down tariffs in both directions for 90-days. The US cuts tariffs on Chinese imports to 30pc from 145pc. China cuts tariffs on US to 10pc from 125pc. May 13 - The US cuts the low value "de minimis" tariff on lower value packages from China to 54pc from 120pc. May 23 - Trump announces a shock 50pc tariff on goods from the European Union to start on June 1. He also says US tech giant Apple will be hit with a 25pc tariff if it continues to manufacture phones outside the US. May 25 - Trump pauses the 50pc tariffs on imports from the EU until July 9 to allow time for trade talks.
May 28 - A US trade court blocked most Trump's tariffs, saying the US President lacks the legal authority to impose across-the-board levies on imports. The court ruling covers the tariffs announced at the April 'Liberation Day' event but not levies on imports of steel and aluminium imposed under different powers.