{"slug":"trump-steel-tariffs-trade-war","title":"Trade Wars and Steel Tariffs: Harming Allies While Failing to Rebuild Manufacturing","date":"2018-03-08","lastUpdated":"2020-01-15","description":"Trump imposed sweeping steel and aluminum tariffs on allies and competitors alike, triggering retaliatory tariffs on American exports from China, Canada, the EU, and Mexico. The tariffs cost American consumers and downstream manufacturers billions while delivering limited benefit to the steel industry and devastating sectors including agriculture, automotive, and electronics. The trade war with China imposed estimated costs of $316 billion on the U.S. economy.","summary":"Trump's Section 232 and Section 301 tariffs disrupted U.S. trade relationships with allies and adversaries alike. The steel and aluminum tariffs targeted Canada, the EU, Japan, and South Korea — treaty allies — under a national security designation that even many Republicans criticized as pretextual. Retaliatory tariffs by China on soybeans, pork, and other agricultural goods caused severe damage to American farmers, requiring $28 billion in emergency agricultural assistance.","category":"corruption","severity":"major","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/08/us/politics/trump-tariffs.html","title":"Trump Signs Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.piie.com/research/piie-charts/us-china-trade-war-tariffs-date-chart","title":"US-China Trade War Tariffs: An Up-to-Date Chart","publisher":"Peterson Institute for International Economics"},{"url":"https://www.wsj.com/articles/trumps-china-tariffs-cost-consumers-and-companies-315-billion-study-says-11574110200","title":"Trump's China Tariffs Cost Consumers and Companies $315 Billion","publisher":"The Wall Street Journal"},{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/12/us/politics/trump-farmers-trade-war.html","title":"Trump Bails Out Farmers Hurt by His Own Trade War With $28 Billion","publisher":"The New York Times"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["trade-war","tariffs","China","agriculture","first-term","economic-policy"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"2018-03-08","title":"Steel and aluminum tariffs signed","summary":"Trump signs proclamations imposing 25% tariffs on steel and 10% on aluminum imports under Section 232 national security authority. Initial exemptions for Canada, Mexico, and the EU are later removed. Most affected countries announce retaliatory measures."},{"date":"2018-07-06","title":"First round of China Section 301 tariffs","summary":"The U.S. imposes 25% tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese goods; China immediately retaliates with 25% tariffs on $34 billion in American goods, targeting soybeans, pork, and other agricultural exports from Trump-voting states."},{"date":"2018-08-23","title":"Second round of China tariffs","summary":"Additional 25% tariffs on $16 billion in Chinese goods; China retaliates in kind. American soybean exports to China collapse from $12.4 billion in 2017 to $3.1 billion in 2018."},{"date":"2019-05-10","title":"Tariffs raised to 25% on $200B in Chinese goods","summary":"After trade negotiations collapse, Trump raises tariffs to 25% on $200 billion in Chinese goods and threatens tariffs on all remaining Chinese imports. Markets fall. Farmers report severe financial stress."},{"date":"2019-09-11","title":"$28 billion agricultural bailout — larger than auto bailout","summary":"The Trump administration announces a second round of farm bailout payments, bringing total emergency agricultural assistance to $28 billion — larger than the 2009 automobile industry bailout and funded primarily by tariff revenue paid by American consumers and importers."},{"date":"2020-01-15","title":"Phase One China trade deal signed","summary":"The U.S. and China sign a 'Phase One' trade deal in which China commits to increase purchases of American goods. Critics note the deal does not address the structural issues (intellectual property theft, state subsidies, forced technology transfer) that were cited as justifications for the trade war; China ultimately does not meet its purchase commitments."}],"location":{"name":"Washington, D.C. / United States","lat":38.9072,"lng":-77.0369},"custom":{"era":"first-term","posture":"reported","warCrimeClassification":"enabling","internationalLaw":[{"statute":"WTO Agreement","article":"GATT Article XXI","provision":"National security exceptions to trade rules are narrow; applying national security tariffs to NATO allies was found by WTO panels to be inconsistent with U.S. obligations"}],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"American farmers who lost export markets; workers in downstream manufacturing industries that use steel and aluminum; consumers who paid higher prices; foreign industries and workers subjected to retaliatory policies","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"President of the United States","institution":"White House"},{"name":"Peter Navarro","role":"Director, National Trade Council; architect of China trade war strategy","institution":"White House"},{"name":"Robert Lighthizer","role":"U.S. Trade Representative","institution":"Office of the United States Trade Representative"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2020-01-15","summary":"Updated with Phase One trade deal signing."}]}}