U.S. President Donald Trump listens to a question from a reporter before signing an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on March 31, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI
U.S. President Donald Trump’s much-anticipated reciprocal tariffs are set to take effect on April 2. These tariffs, which will apply to all countries, are expected to impact trade partners such as India, China, and the European Union.
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. 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.
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, including some recently-postponed taxes on goods from America’s largest trading partners.
Here is a timeline on U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war since he returned to the Oval office in January:
Published – April 02, 2025 11:46 am IST
