A Brewing Storm
Since Trump’s first term, he has enacted a trade war, targeting China by imposing taxes and a majority of goods. Fast-forward to his current term, Trump has been focusing on adding Tariffs bad to the country.
January 20th
Trump has been sworn into office and during his inaugural address he makes a promise to add tariffs and tax to foreign countries to enrich our citizens. He says “ he expects to put at least 25 percent of tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting February 1st.
February 1st
Trump signs an executive order to add tariffs on imports for countries like Mexico, China, and more. 10 percent are from China, and 25 percent from Canada and Mexico starting February 4th.
February 4th
Trump’s 10 percent tariffs on Chinese ports goes into full effect. This leads to China retaliating by adding new duties on a variety of American goods.
February 10th
Announcement of Trump’s plan to add tariffs on steel and aluminum starting March 12th. Removing his 2018 tariff on steel, all steel imported will be taxed at a minimum of 25 percent.
March 4th
Trump’s 25 percent tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico goes into effect. He doubles the tariffs on Chinese imports to 20 percent. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces his $100 billion tariff on American goods. President Claudia Sheinbaum, the president of Mexico, also announced his retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods.
March 10th
China retaliates with 15 percent tariffs on American products like chicken, soybeans, beef, and more.
March 12th
Trump’s new tariffs on steel and aluminum go into effect. Both metals now have a 25 percent tariff. Canada announces their plan to add retaliatory tariffs worth $20.7 billion on U.S imports.
March 13th
Trump threatens a 200 percent tariff on European wine and Champagne if Europe goes along with its plan of a 50 percent tariff on American whiskey.
March 24th
Trump announces a 25 percent tariff on any country that purchases oil or gas from Venezuela. He also introduced new tariffs on South American countries starting April 2nd.
March 26th
Trump announces 25 percent of tariffs on auto imports. The tariff will start being collected on April 3rd and is set to expand through May 3rd.
April 2nd
Trump announces his 10 percent tax on imports for all countries.
April 4th
Trump announces a plan to impose a 34 percent tariff on all U.S. products starting April 10th.
Struggling to Compete
Trump’s new tariffs will have major impacts on Agriculture and American industry. Andrew Muhammad, a professor of agriculture and resource economics at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, states that although the Tariffs will be “good” for the country, overconsumption will be a problem. When international trade is restricted by taxation, it will increasingly affect agriculture.
The trade war will result in higher prices and lower profits for Americans. Tariffs will cause pain to agricultural producers because of the price wedge. This is where buyers are paying more and sellers are earning less. These tariffs will result in less international demand for agricultural products produced in America. Countries have already started buying from other countries instead of America for products. For example, China has started buying more beef from Brazilian producers. Farmers will also have to start paying more for their equipment since a majority of their parts are from foreign countries. Muhammad states that “ retaliatory tariffs will depress the prices you receive in the market.”
Although the cost of doing business will go up and the price of groceries will increase, the Trump administration’s U.S. The Department of Agriculture has stated it will provide financial relief to farmers. Trump has stated these tariffs are a negotiating strategy to increase domestic production in America and aren’t permanent.
An Economic Lens
Economists have predicted that over the next 10 years, tariffs will raise $5.2 trillion in revenue, and over the next 30 years, they will raise $16.4 trillion. The revenue will be used to reduce federal debt.
Economists have predicted several scenarios. Consumers will face the entire burden of the tariffs or it will be equally shared with the consumers and businesses. They predicted that the rise in economic uncertainty will reduce its investment by 4.4 percent in 2025.
Capitol Hill Reacts
On April 7th, reports of Oil prices had fallen to the lowest they have been in 4 years. The Trump administration has threatened to veto a bipartisan Senate bill to Congress that grants the ability to review new tariffs. A handful of Republican Senators have signed onto the bill of Senator Maria Cantwell, a democratic senator from Washington, and Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican Senator, stating that the President would have to notify Congress within 48 hours before issuing a new tariff. This new bill also allows Congress to end a tariff at any time.
Congressional offices have argued that the bill will severely constrain President Trump’s tariff powers and eliminate his leverage over foreign countries. If this bill is passed, it will affect the President’s authority over foreign policy and national security. The White House has said that if that bill made it to Trump’s desk, “ he would veto the bill”.
Currently, the bill is faced uphill on President Trump’s desk. As the bill is being introduced to the house, Speaker Mike Johnson has publicly stated “ he is sticking by Trump’s tariff strategy.”
Final Thoughts
In the end, there is a majority chance that tariffs will drive up prices and end up costing the economy more money than they generate. Tariffs on steel, aluminum, imported vehicles, and other products have already taken effect. Reciprocal tariffs on China are currently paused for 90 days. President Trump states that these tariffs are necessary to increase domestic manufacturing. Trump has also teased that income taxes could be “ reduced or eliminated” with the effects of his tariffs.
Americans are currently divided on the issue of tariffs being welcomed back into the country.
Criminally Informed 
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