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Major developments in Trump's trade war

Thu, 15th Jan 2026 10:46

Jan 15 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's ⁠tariff decisions since he ‌took office in January 2025 have shocked financial markets and sent a ⁠wave of uncertainty through the global economy.

Here is a timeline of the major developments:

February 1, 2025 - Trump orders 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada and 10% on goods from China, demanding ‍the three countries curb the flow of fentanyl and illegal immigrants into the U.S.

February 10, 2025 - Trump raises tariffs on steel and aluminium imports to a flat 25%.

March 3, 2025 - Trump says 25% tariffs ‍on goods from Mexico and Canada will take effect from March 4 and doubles tariffs on all Chinese imports to 20%.

March 26, 2025 - Trump unveils a ⁠25% tariff on imported cars and light trucks.

April 2, 2025 - Trump announces global tariffs with a baseline of 10% across all imports and significantly higher duties on imports from some countries.

April 9, 2025 - Trump pauses most country-specific tariffs that kicked in less than 24 hours earlier. The 10% blanket duty on almost all U.S. imports stays in place. Trump says he will raise tariffs ​on Chinese imports to 125% from the 104% level that took effect a day earlier, pushing the extra duties on Chinese goods to 145%.

May 9, 2025 - Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announce a limited bilateral trade agreement that leaves in place 10% tariffs on British imports to the U.S..

May 12, 2025 - The U.S. and China agree to slash tariffs for 90 days. The U.S. cut the extra tariffs it imposed on Chinese imports to 30%, while China reduce duties on U.S. imports to ‍10% from 125%.

May 23, 2025 - Trump warns Apple it would face a 25% tariff if phones it sold in the U.S. were manufactured outside of the country.

May 29, 2025 - A ‌federal appeals court temporarily reinstates the most sweeping of Trump's tariffs, pausing an earlier lower court's ruling to consider the government's appeal.

June 3, 2025 - Trump signs an executive proclamation hiking tariffs on steel and aluminium imports to 50%.

July 3, 2025 - ‌Trump says the U.S. will place a 20% tariff on many imports from Vietnam, with trans-shipments from third countries through Vietnam facing a 40% levy.

July 7, 2025 - Trump says additional higher duties announced previously will kick in on August 1. In letters sent to 14 countries, he says that will include tariffs between 25% and 40%.

July 15, 2025 - ‌Trump says the U.S. and Indonesia made a new framework agreement under which the U.S. will reduce threatened tariffs on Indonesian goods to 19% from 32%.

July 22, 2025 - Trump strikes a trade deal ​with Japan that includes lowering tariffs on auto imports to 15%.

July 30, 2025 - The U.S. reaches a deal with South Korea reducing the planned levies on imports to 15%.

July 31, 2025 - Trump signs an executive order imposing import tariffs ranging from 10% to 41% on 69 trading partners ahead of the trade deal deadline. He issues an order increasing the tariff rate ⁠on Canadian goods.

August 6, 2025 - Trump imposes an additional 25% tariff on goods from India, saying the country ‍directly or indirectly imported Russian oil.

August 7, 2025 - Trump's higher tariffs on imports from dozens of countries kick in, leaving major trade partners like Switzerland, Brazil and India scrambling for a better deal.

August 11, 2025 - Trump extends tariff truce with China for another 90 ​days, withholding imposition of three-digit duties until November 10.

August 21, 2025 - The U.S. and EU lock in a framework ⁠trade deal that sets duties at 15% on most imports.

September 30, 2025 - Trump slaps duties of 10% on imported timber and lumber and 25% on kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities and upholstered furniture.

January 14, 2026 - Trump imposes a 25% tariff on certain AI chips, such as the Nvidia H200 AI processor and a similar semiconductor from AMD. (Compiled by Paolo Laudani and Mateusz Rabiega in Gdansk; editing by Jamie Freed, Lincoln Feast, Matt Scuffham, Milla Nissi-Prussak and Helen Reid)

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