{"slug":"trump-steel-aluminum-tariffs-trade-war","title":"Steel and Aluminum Tariffs: Trade War With Allies, WTO Violations, Economic Disruption","date":"2018-03-01","lastUpdated":"2018-12-01","description":"On March 1, 2018, Trump announced 25% tariffs on steel imports and 10% tariffs on aluminum imports under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, citing national security. The tariffs applied to virtually all U.S. trading partners, including close allies Canada, Mexico, the European Union, Japan, and South Korea. Allies retaliated with targeted tariffs on American goods. The WTO Panel later found the tariffs violated U.S. international trade obligations. The trade conflict with China expanded separately into the most significant trade war since the 1930s, costing American farmers and consumers billions.","summary":"The Section 232 tariffs were challenged immediately as legally dubious — U.S. national security law did not contemplate allies as threats, and Canada, Germany, South Korea, and Japan supply steel and aluminum to U.S. defense contractors. The EU, Canada, and Mexico all retaliated with targeted tariffs on politically sensitive U.S. products (Bourbon, Harley-Davidson motorcycles, orange juice, soybeans). The broader China trade war — separate from the steel tariffs — involved escalating rounds of tariffs reaching 25% on $250 billion in Chinese goods; China retaliated against agricultural products; the U.S. government paid $28 billion in direct payments to American farmers to compensate for lost Chinese export markets.","category":"foreign-policy","severity":"major","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/01/us/politics/trump-tariffs-steel-aluminum.html","title":"Trump Imposes Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/trump-trade-war-allies-china/2018/12/01/story.html","title":"Trump's trade war: tariffs on allies, China dispute, farmer losses","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://apnews.com/article/trump-steel-aluminum-tariffs-allies-trade-war","title":"US tariffs on allies trigger retaliation, WTO challenge","publisher":"The Associated Press"},{"url":"https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news22_e/232_28jul22_e.htm","title":"WTO Panel: US Section 232 steel/aluminum tariffs inconsistent with WTO rules","publisher":"World Trade Organization"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["tariffs","trade-war","China","steel","foreign-policy","first-term","WTO"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"2018-03-01","title":"Trump announces 25% steel / 10% aluminum tariffs on allies","summary":"Trump announces tariffs on steel (25%) and aluminum (10%) under Section 232, applying them to nearly all trading partners including allies Canada, EU, Japan, and South Korea. The legal theory — that allied imports pose national security threats — is widely challenged."},{"date":"2018-06-01","title":"Allies impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products","summary":"Canada, Mexico, and the EU impose retaliatory tariffs targeting politically sensitive American products: Bourbon, Harley-Davidson motorcycles, orange juice, soybeans. Chosen to maximize political pressure."},{"date":"2018-06-01","title":"Harley-Davidson announces manufacturing shift to avoid tariffs","summary":"Harley-Davidson announces it will shift some production overseas to avoid European retaliatory tariffs. Trump attacks the company on Twitter."},{"date":"2018-07-06","title":"US-China trade war begins with $34B in tariffs","summary":"The U.S. imposes $34 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods; China immediately retaliates. The trade war escalates through multiple rounds reaching $250 billion in U.S. tariffs on Chinese products."},{"date":"2019-08-27","title":"US pays $28 billion to farmers — larger than auto bailout","summary":"The U.S. government announces it will pay $28 billion in emergency agricultural subsidies to farmers who lost Chinese export markets. The payment is funded by tariff revenue."}],"location":{"name":"Washington, D.C.","lat":38.9072,"lng":-77.0369},"custom":{"era":"first-term","posture":"reported","warCrimeClassification":"enabling","internationalLaw":[{"statute":"General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade","article":"Article XXI","provision":"Security exceptions — WTO Panel found U.S. Section 232 tariffs violated GATT obligations; national security exception improperly invoked for tariffs targeting allied trading partners"}],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"American manufacturers dependent on imported steel and aluminum who faced higher input costs; American farmers who lost Chinese export markets and received government compensation payments; allied relationships strained by tariffs on security partners","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"President; directed Section 232 tariffs on allies; escalated China trade war through multiple rounds of tariffs","institution":"White House"},{"name":"Peter Navarro","role":"White House trade advisor; principal architect of tariff strategy; credentialed economist whose views were far outside mainstream economics","institution":"White House National Trade Council"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2018-12-01","summary":"Updated with full year analysis of trade war impact."}]}}