A timeline of Trump’s tariff actions so far

NEW YORK (AP) — Long-threatened tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump have plunged the country into trade wars abroad — all while on-again, off-again new levies continue to escalate uncertainty.

Trump is no stranger to tariffs. He launched a trade war during his first term, taking particular aim at China by putting taxes on most of its goods. Beijing responded with its own retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products ranging from fruit to automotive imports. Meanwhile, Trump also used the threat of more tariffs to force Canada and Mexico to renegotiate a North American trade pact, called the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, in 2020.

WATCH: Trump announces broad tariffs at ‘Liberation Day’ White House event

When President Joe Biden took office, he preserved most of the tariffs Trump previously enacted against China, in addition to imposing some new restrictions — but his administration claimed to take a more targeted approach.

Fast-forward to today, and economists stress there could be greater consequences on businesses and economies worldwide under Trump’s more sweeping tariffs this time around — and that higher prices will likely leave consumers footing the bill. There’s also been a sense of whiplash from Trump’s back-and-forth tariff threats and responding retaliation seen over the last few months.

Here’s a timeline of how we got here.

January 20

Trump is sworn into office. In his inaugural address, he again promises to “tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens.” And he reiterates plans to create an agency called the External Revenue Service, which has yet to be established.

On his first day in office, Trump also says he expects to put 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting on Feb. 1, while declining to immediately flesh out plans for taxing Chinese imports.

January 26

Trump threatens 25 percent tariffs on all Colombia imports and other retaliatory measures after President Gustavo Petro’s rejects two U.S. military aircraft carrying migrants to the country, accusing Trump of not treating immigrants with dignity during deportation.

READ MORE: How soon will prices rise? 4 questions about Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, answered

In response, Petro also announces a retaliatory 25 percent increase in Colombian tariffs on U.S. goods. But Colombia later reversed its decision and accepted the flights carrying migrants. The two countries soon signaled a halt in the trade dispute.

February 1

Trump signs an executive order to impose tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada and China — 10 percent on all imports from China and 25 percent on imports from Mexico and Canada starting Feb. 4. Trump invoked this power by declaring a national emergency — ostensibly over undocumented immigration and drug trafficking.

The action prompts swift outrage from all three countries, with promises of retaliatory measures.

February 3

Trump agrees to a 30-day pause on his tariff threats against Mexico and Canada, as both trading partners take steps to appease Trump’s concerns about border security and drug trafficking.

February 4

Trump’s new 10 percent tariffs on all Chinese imports to the U.S. still go into effect. China retaliates the same day by announcing a flurry of countermeasures, including sweeping new duties on a variety of American goods and an anti-monopoly investigation into Google.

WATCH: How Trump’s sweeping new tariffs could shake up U.S. and global economies

China’s 15 percent tariffs on coal and liquefied natural gas products, and a 10 percent levy on crude oil, agricultural machinery and large-engine cars imported from the U.S., take effect Feb. 10.

February 10

Trump announces plans to hike steel and aluminum tariffs starting March 12. He removes the exemptions from his 2018 tariffs on steel, meaning that all steel imports will be taxed at a minimum of 25 percent, and also raises his 2018 aluminum tariffs from 10 percent to 25 percent.

February 13

Trump announces a plan for “reciprocal” tariffs — promising to increase U.S. tariffs to match the tax rates that other countries charge on imports “for purposes of fairness.” Economists warn that the reciprocal tariffs, set to overturn decades of trade policy, could create chaos for global businesses.

Beyond China, Canada and Mexico, he later indicates that additional countries, such as India and European nations, won’t be spared from higher tariffs.

February 25

Trump signs an executive order instructing the Commerce Department to consider whether a tariff on imported copper is needed to protect national security. 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 to consider 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.

READ MORE: 5 places Trump has targeted for tariffs even though they have few or no exports

March 4

Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico go into effect, though he limits the levy to 10 percent on Canadian energy. He also doubles the tariff on all Chinese imports to 20 percent.

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 with its own retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods without specifying the targeted products immediately, signaling hopes to de-escalate.

China, meanwhile, imposes tariffs of up to 15 percent on a wide array of key U.S. farm exports, set to take effect March 10. 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 for U.S. automakers. The pause arrives after the president spoke with leaders of the “Big 3” automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis.

March 6

In a wider extension, Trump postpones 25 percent tariffs on many imports from Mexico and some imports from Canada for a month. But he still plans to impose “reciprocal” tariffs starting on April 2.

READ MORE: U.S. stock market tumbles the day after Trump’s major tariff announcement

Trump credited Sheinbaum with making progress on border security and drug smuggling as a reason for again pausing tariffs. His actions also thaw relations with Canada somewhat, although outrage and uncertainty 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’s retaliatory 15 percent tariffs on key American farm products — including chicken, pork, soybeans and beef — take effect. Goods already in transit are set to be exempt through April 12, per China’s Commerce Ministry previous announcement.

March 12

Trump’s new tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports go into effect. Both metals are now taxed at 25 percent across the board — with Trump’s order to remove steel exemptions and raise aluminum’s levy from his previously-imposed 2018 import taxes.

The European Union takes retaliatory trade action promising 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’s first term. The 27-member bloc later says it will delay this retaliatory action until mid-April.

WATCH: Senate passes resolution to undo Trump’s Canada tariffs in rare Republican rebuke

Canada, meanwhile, announces plans to impose retaliatory tariffs worth Canadian $29.8 billion ($20.7 billion) on U.S. imports, set to go into effect March 13.

March 13

Trump threatens a 200 percent tariff on European wine, Champagne and spirits if the European Union goes forward with its previously-announced plans for a 50 percent tariff on American whiskey.

March 24

Trump says he will place a 25 percent tariff on all imports from any country that buys oil or gas from Venezuela, in addition to imposing new tariffs on the South American country itself, starting April 2.

The tariffs would most likely add to the taxes facing China, which in 2023 bought 68 percent of the oil exported by Venezuela, per the U.S. Energy Information Administration. But a number of countries also receive oil from Venezuela — including the United States itself.

March 26

Trump says he is placing 25 percent tariffs on auto imports, a move that the White House claims would foster domestic manufacturing. But it could also put a financial squeeze on automakers that depend on global supply chains.

These auto imports will start being collected April 3 — starting with taxes on fully-imported cars. The tariffs are set to then expand to applicable auto parts in the following weeks, through May 3.

April 2

Trump announces his long-promised “reciprocal” tariffs — declaring a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from all countries, as well as higher tariff rates for dozens of nations that run trade surpluses with the U.S.

Among those steeper levies, Trump says the U.S. will now charge a 34 percent tax on imports from China, a 20 percent tax on imports from the European Union, 25 percent on South Korea, 24 percent on Japan and 32 percent on Taiwan. Trump declares a national economic emergency to launch the sweeping import taxes.