Tariffs....and the Presidency

LesterWagner1990 · 2025-03-27T11:30:04.233Z

It seems odd that a President can just decide to throw tariffs on products so easily. I am not knocking Trump on this, but it just seems odd that we could elect someone like, let's say, Kim Kardashian or Carrot Top, as President, and that person can decide issues so out of the realm of their expertise that can destroy an economy. There should be some sort of vote to gain approval.

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Someone actually took the time to compile a list of all the threats, enactments

Mar 27, 2025, 8:55 AM

and retractions, and waffling....to date.

President Donald Trump began proposing new tariffs within hours of being sworn into office. Sixty days later, his whirlwind of on-again, off-again tariffs shows no sign of slowing down.

Having trouble following the deluge? Scroll on for a day-by-day look at how Trump’s trade war has unfolded and where it stands now.

1/21/25
On the first day of his term, Trump threatened a 25 percent tariff on all goods imported from Mexico and Canada, the United States’ closest trade partners.

1/26/25
Later that week, Trump proposed a tax on all imported computer chips and pharmaceuticals. On the same day, he used the threat of tariffs to force Colombia to accept deportation flights.

1/30/25
Trump threatened BRICS nations with a 100 percent tariff if they moved away from the U.S. dollar as a reserve currency.

2/1/25
Over the next two days, he announced a 10 percent tax on all Chinese imports and threatened the European Union with tariffs.

2/3/25
Trump paused tariffs on Canada and Mexico shortly before they were to go into effect but enacted the tariffs against China.

2/8/25
The next week, Trump announced a policy of “reciprocal” tariffs on countries that tax U.S. imports. He also shared plans for a 25 percent global tariff on steel and aluminum …

… followed by a global tax on foreign cars.

2/16/25
Tariff news went quiet until the end of the month …

2/25/25
… when Trump ordered an investigation into potential tariffs on copper and proposed an additional tax on Chinese goods.

3/2/25
He then asked for investigations into potential tariffs on lumber and agricultural products.

3/3/25
The new tariffs on China were enacted on March 4, and the postponed tax on all Canadian and Mexican goods briefly went into effect …

3/5/25
… followed by carve-outs for the auto industry, goods from Canada and Mexico compliant with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, and lower tax rates for Canadian fertilizer and energy.

3/7/25
Trump then took to Truth Social to threaten Russia with tariffs over the war in Ukraine.

3/11/25
He briefly proposed doubling steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada before relenting and allowing the planned global steel and aluminum tax to go into effect.

3/13/25
After Europe promised retaliatory tariffs, Trump floated a 200 percent tariff on European alcohol.

3/17/25
Following a quiet week ...

3/24/25
... Trump threatened 25 percent tariffs on any country that buys oil and gas from Venezuela ...

3/26/25
... and expanded his promised automobile tariffs to include auto parts.

Tariffs have been enacted on roughly $800 billion of goods as of March 21. A much bigger wave of trade taxes are slated to begin April 2, impacting trillions of dollars of trade.

Here’s where Trump’s tariffs stand now, and what’s coming next:

Tariffs laid down by the Trump administration are meant to boost some domestic industries and extract concessions from other countries. But economists say that the new taxes may drive up consumer prices and threaten key American industries. Retaliatory tariffs from targeted countries like Canada and China could impact millions of jobs in the U.S.

The atmosphere of uncertainty created by rapid proposals and reversals could create a drag on the economy. Without knowing what tariffs may go into effect — or when — businesses may struggle to make big decisions, such as whether to build a plant or move supply chains, said Kimberly Clausing, an economist at UCLA School of Law.

“Trump has introduced a level of economic uncertainty in a deliberate and truly unnecessary fashion,” Clausing said. “There’s nothing parallel in my lifetime in the United States.”