Trump Tariffs: The Economic Impact of the Trump Trade War

Key Findings

• President Trump has threatened to impose International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China related to fentanyl; national security tariffs on autos, auto parts, steel, and aluminum from all countries; and IEEPA tariffs on all countries related to an economic national emergency.
• The average tariffTariffs are taxes imposed by one country on goods imported from another country. Tariffs are trade barriers that raise prices, reduce available quantities of goods and services for US businesses and consumers, and create an economic burden on foreign exporters. rate on all imports will rise from 2.5 percent in 2024 to 16.5 percent—the highest average rate since 1937—under the Trump tariffs announced for 2025. Tariffs will cause imports to fall by slightly more than $800 billion in 2025, or 25 percent.
• The newly announced universal Trump tariffs on April 2 will raise $1.5 trillion in revenue over the next decade and shrink US GDP by 0.4 percent. The April 2 escalation comes in addition to previously announced tariffs, which will raise $1.3 in revenue over the next decade and shrink US GDP by 0.3 percent. Altogether, Trump’s tariffs will raise nearly $2.9 trillion in revenue over the next decade and reduce US GDP by 0.7 percent, all before foreign retaliation.
• The Trump tariffs will reduce after-tax incomeAfter-tax income is the net amount of income available to invest, save, or consume after federal, state, and withholding taxes have been applied—your disposable income. Companies and, to a lesser extent, individuals, make economic decisions in light of how they can best maximize their earnings. by an average of 1.9 percent and amount to an average taxA tax is a mandatory payment or charge collected by local, state, and national governments from individuals or businesses to cover the costs of general government services, goods, and activities. increase of more than $1,900 per US household in 2025.
• As of April 4, China, Canada, and the European Union have announced or imposed retaliatory tariffs altogether affecting $330 billion of US exports. Imposed and threatened retaliation as of April 4 will reduce US GDP by another 0.1 percent.
• In 2025, the Trump tariffs will increase federal tax revenues by $258.4 billion, or 0.85 percent of GDP, making the tariffs the largest tax hike since 1982. The 2025 Trump tariffs are larger than the tax increases enacted under Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama.
• The first Trump administration-imposed tariffs on thousands of products valued at approximately $380 billion in 2018 and 2019. The second Trump administration tariffs now affect all United States imports excluding USMCA trade and certain energy-related imports, or more than $2.5 trillion of US imports.

2025 Trump Tariffs Timeline

President Trump signed an executive order on January 20, 2025, instructing certain cabinet secretaries to develop reports on trade practices and recommendations for tariffs due by April 1, 2025. Since then, several new tariffs and tariff investigations have been threatened, initiated, and/or imposed.

Country-Specific Tariffs:

• IEEPA Border Security and Fentanyl Tariffs: President Trump signed three executive orders on February 1, 2025, to impose 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico and 10 percent tariffs on China using International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) authority, to go into effect on February 4.
  • China: The 10 percent tariffs on all imports from China took effect on February 4, 2025. On February 27, Trump said the tariffs on China would increase by another 10 percent beginning March 4, which has taken effect.
  • Canada: The tariffs on Canada received a 30-day suspension and took effect March 4. On March 5, the president exempted auto imports from the tariffs until April 2, and on March 6 the president exempted imports covered by the USMCA trade deal (approximately 38 percent of imports from Canada) until April 2 while lowering the tariff on non-USMCA potash (a fertilizer used in farming) to 10 percent. On April 2, the exemption was extended indefinitely. On March 11, the president said the 25 percent rate on steel and aluminum would double to 50 percent in response to Canada’s retaliation, but later in the day walked back the doubling.
  • Mexico: The tariffs on Mexico received a 30-day suspension and took effect on March 4. On March 5, the president exempted auto imports from the tariffs until April 2, and on March 6 the president exempted imports covered by the USMCA trade deal (approximately 49 percent of imports from Mexico) until April 2. On April 2, the exemption was extended indefinitely.
• Reciprocal Tariffs: President Trump signed a presidential memorandum on February 13, 2025, to develop a plan for increasing US tariffs in response to other countries’ tariffs, tax policies, and any other policies including exchange rates and unfair practices. The recommendations are due April 1, 2025, and the president has indicated they will begin taking effect on April 2. On April 2, the president announced a universal tariff of 10 percent, with higher tariffs on trading partners, as high as 50 percent, depending on their trade balance with the United States. The tariffs do not apply to goods that face product-specific tariffs like steel, aluminum, autos, and auto parts, and they also exclude energy products. The 10 percent tariffs take effect April 5, and the individualized tariffs take effect April 9.
• Venezuelan Oil Tariffs: President Trump signed an executive order on March 24, 2025, to impose an additional 25 percent tariff on Venezuela and any countries that purchase oil and gas from Venezuela, which could become effective April 2.
• European Union: President Trump announced plans on February 26, 2025, to impose tariffs of 25 percent on imports from the European Union. The authority to impose these tariffs has not been specified. On April 2, President Trump specified the “reciprocal” tariff rate on imports from the EU would be 20 percent.

Product-Specific Tariffs:

• Semiconductors and Pharmaceuticals: President Trump said on January 27, 2025, he would announce new tariffs on computer chips, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals. On February 18 he announced the rates on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals would be “25 percent and higher.” The authority to impose these tariffs has not been specified.
• Steel and Aluminum: President Trump signed two proclamations on February 10, 2025, to expand the existing Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum. The orders end all existing exemptions for the tariffs, expand the list of derivative articles, and raise the tariff rate on aluminum from 10 percent to 25 percent. The changes took effect March 12, 2025.
• Autos: President Trump announced on February 14, 2025, that he plans to impose tariffs on auto imports beginning on April 2, 2025. He said on February 18 the rate on autos would be “in the neighborhood of 25 percent” while the rates on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals would be “25 percent and higher.” On March 26, 2025, Trump signed a proclamation authorizing 25 percent tariffs on autos and certain auto parts under Section 232 to take effect April 3 for autos and before May 3 for auto parts. US-based content of certain imports from Canada and Mexico will be exempt.
• Copper: President Trump directed the Commerce Department on February 25, 2025, to begin a Section 232 national security investigation for copper imports; the findings of the report are due by November 22, 2025.
• Lumber: President Trump directed the Commerce Department on March 1, 2025, to begin a Section 232 national security investigation into timber, lumber, and derivative imports; the findings of the report are due by November 26, 2025.
• Agricultural Products: President Trump posted on March 3, 2025, that tariffs on “external” agricultural products would begin April 2, 2025.

Retaliation:

• • China
    • IEEPA fentanyl retaliation: 10 percent and 15 percent tariffs on $13.9 billion of US exports (including ag equipment and oil) effective on February 10; 10 percent and 15 percent tariffs on $19.5 billion of US exports (including agricultural products) effective on March 10
    • IEEPA universal retaliation: 34 percent tariffs on all $144 billion of US exports
  • Canada
    • IEEPA fentanyl retaliation: 25 percent tariffs on $20.8 billion of US exports effective on March 4; 25 percent tariffs on $86.7 billion of US exports scheduled for March 23; planned 25 percent tax on electricity exports from Ontario to the US, currently suspended
    • Section 232 steel and aluminum retaliation: 25 percent tariffs on $20.7 billion of US exports effective March 13
    • Section 232 auto retaliation: 25 percent tariffs on $30.5 billion of US autos
  • European Union
    • Section 232 retaliation: Lift suspension of previous tariffs, with rates of up to 50 percent, affecting $8 billion of US exports scheduled for April 1 (including whiskey); expand tariffs to an additional $20 billion of US exports scheduled for April 13

2025 Trump Tariffs: Economic Effects

President Trump has imposed and threatened a variety of tariffs. We model the following policies

• A 20 percent tariff on all imports from China.
• A 25 percent tariff on all imports from Mexico in 2025, which we assume is reduced to 12 percent after 2025 under the April 2 tariffs. USMCA-compliant imports are exempt from the tariffs indefinitely.
• A 10 percent tariff on energy and potash imports in 2025 plus a 25 percent tariff on all remaining imports from Canada in 2025. After 2025, we assume the energy and potash tariffs end and the tariffs on all remaining imports from Canada are reduced to 12 percent under the April 2 tariffs. USMCA-compliant imports are exempt from the tariffs indefinitely. Excluding USMCA trade, tariffs will apply to $256 billion of Canadian imports based on 2024 trade data.
• A 10 percent baseline tariff on all countries, with higher rates on 60 trading partners, all excluding goods that face product-specific tariffs and energy. Excluding the EU, China, Canada, and Mexico, the so-called reciprocal tariffs on the rest of the world result in a trade-weighted average tariff rate of 25 percent. Imports from the EU face a 20 percent tariff, imports from China face a 34 percent tariff, and imports from Canada and Mexico excluding USMCA trade will face a 12 percent tariff.
• Expansions to the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs, including ending country exemptions, raising the rate on aluminum from 10 percent to 25 percent, and expanding the derivatives list.
  • Ending the country exemptions for the existing steel and steel derivatives tariffs, which increases imports subject to the tariffs from $5.5 billion to $34.6 billion (excluding interactions with tariff rate quotas)
  • Ending the country exemptions for the existing aluminum and aluminum derivatives tariffs, which increases imports subject to the tariffs from $6.1 billion to $18.5 billion (excluding interactions with tariff rate quotas)
  • Increasing the tariff rate on aluminum and aluminum derivatives from 10 percent to 25 percent
• A 25 percent tariff on all autos and certain auto parts, excluding US content of imports from Canada and Mexico. We illustrate the effects of this policy with 25 percent tariffs on all auto and auto parts specified in the Federal Register excluding USMCA trade.
• Retaliation announced as of April 4.

We estimate that before accounting for any foreign retaliation, Trump’s tariffs will reduce US GDP by 0.7 percent. The tariffs announced April 2 drive most of that effect, reducing US GDP by 0.4 percent. Threatened and imposed retaliatory tariffs affect $330 billion of US exports based on 2024 US import values; if fully imposed, we estimate they would reduce US GDP by 0.1 percent. Combined, the US-imposed tariffs and the threatened and imposed retaliatory tariffs reduce US GDP by 0.8 percent.

Table 1. Estimated Impact of President Trump’s Proposed Tariffs

Note: Totals may not sum due to rounding.
Source: Tax Foundation General Equilibrium Model, February 2025. 

If imposed on a permanent basis, the tariffs would increase tax revenue for the federal government. We model the imposed tariffs together, accounting for interactions between the different rounds of tariffs. Revenue is lower on a dynamic basis, a reflection of the negative effect tariffs have on US economic output, reducing incomes and resulting tax revenues. Revenue would fall more when factoring in foreign retaliation, as retaliation would cause US output and incomes to shrink further.

On a conventional basis, before incorporating the negative effects of tariffs on the US economy, we estimate all the tariffs together would increase US federal tax revenue by nearly $2.9 trillion over the next decade. The April 2 tariffs on their own increase tax revenue by $1.5 trillion.

On a dynamic basis, incorporating the negative effects of the US-imposed tariffs on the US economy, we estimate all the tariffs together would raise $2.3 trillion over the next decade, about $505 billion less than the conventional estimate. Incorporating the negative effects of imposed and threatened retaliatory tariffs further reduces 10-year revenue by $85 billion.

Table 2. Revenue Effects of President Trump’s Tariffs

Source: Tax Foundation General Equilibrium Model, February 2025.

The imposed tariffs will reduce after-tax incomes by 1.9 percent on average, with the top 1 percent of taxpayers seeing a smaller 1.6 percent reduction in after-tax incomes. Per US household, the imposed tariffs will amount to an average tax increase of more than $1,900 in 2025.

Table 3. Distributional Effects of President Trump's Tariffs

Source: Tax Foundation General Equilibrium Model, February 2025. 

We estimate the average tariff rate on all imports will rise from 2.5 percent in 2024 to 16.5 percent—the highest average rate since 1937—under the Trump tariffs announced for 2025. We estimate tariffs would cause imports to fall by slightly more than $800 billion in 2025, or 25 percent.

In 2025, Trump’s tariffs will increase federal tax revenues by $258.4 billion, or 0.85 percent of GDP, making the tariffs the largest tax hike since 1982. The tariffs are larger than the tax increases enacted under Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama.

Trump’s 2024 Campaign Proposals

Tariffs featured heavily in the 2024 presidential campaign as candidate Trump proposed a new 10 percent to 20 percent universal tariff on all imports, a 60 percent tariff on all imports from China, higher tariffs on EVs from China or across the board, 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and 10 percent tariffs on China.

We estimate Trump’s proposed 20 percent universal tariffs and an additional 50 percent tariff on China to reach 60 percent would reduce long-run economic output by 1.3 percent before any foreign retaliation. They would increase federal tax revenues by $3.8 trillion ($3.1 trillion on a dynamic basis before retaliation) from 2025 through 2034.

2018-2019 Trade War: Economic Effects of Imposed and Retaliatory Tariffs

Using the Tax Foundation’s General Equilibrium Model, we estimate the Trump-Biden Section 301 and Section 232 tariffs will reduce long-run GDP by 0.2 percent, the capital stock by 0.1 percent, and hours worked by 142,000 full-time equivalent jobs. The reason tariffs have no impact on pre-tax wages in our estimates is that, in the long run, the capital stock shrinks in proportion to the reduction in hours worked, so that the capital-to-labor ratio, and thus the level of wages, remains unchanged. Removing the tariffs would boost GDP and employment, as Tax Foundation estimates have shown for the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs.

Table 4. Estimated Impact of US Imposed Tariffs

Note: 2018-2019 trade war tariffs reflect Section 301 tariffs on imports from China and Section 232 tariffs on certain steel and aluminum imports.
Source: Tax Foundation General Equilibrium Model, June 2024.

We estimate the retaliatory tariffs stemming from Section 232 and Section 301 actions total approximately $13.2 billion in tariff revenues. Retaliatory tariffs are imposed by foreign governments on their country’s importers. While they are not direct taxes on US exports, they raise the after-tax price of US goods in foreign jurisdictions, making them less competitively priced in foreign markets. We estimate the retaliatory tariffs will reduce US GDP and the capital stock by less than 0.05 percent and reduce full-time employment by 27,000 full-time equivalent jobs. Unlike the tariffs imposed by the United States, which raise federal revenue, tariffs imposed by foreign jurisdictions raise no revenue for the US but result in lower US output.

Table 5. Estimated Impact of US Retaliatory Tariffs

Note: 2018-2019 retaliation reflects retaliatory tariffs on $6 billion of US exports in response to Section 232 tariffs and more than $106 billion of US exports in response to Section 301 tariffs.
Source: Tax Foundation General Equilibrium Model, June 2024.

Tariff Revenue Collections Under the Trump-Biden Tariffs

As of the end of 2024, the trade war tariffs have generated more than $264 billion of higher customs duties collected for the US government from US importers. Of that total, $89 billion, or about 34 percent, was collected during the Trump administration, while the remaining $175 billion, or about 64 percent, was collected during the Biden administration.

Before accounting for behavioral effects, the $79 billion in higher tariffs amount to an average annual tax increase on US households of $625. Based on actual revenue collections data, trade war tariffs have directly increased tax collections by $200 to $300 annually per US household, on average. The actual cost to households is higher than both the $600 estimate before behavioral effects and the $200 to $300 after, because neither accounts for lower incomes as tariffs shrink output, nor the loss in consumer choice as people switch to alternatives that do not face tariffs.

Historical Evidence: Tariffs Raise Prices and Reduce Economic Growth

Economists generally agree free trade increases the level of economic output and income, while conversely, trade barriers reduce economic output and income. Historical evidence shows tariffs raise prices and reduce available quantities of goods and services for US businesses and consumers, resulting in lower income, reduced employment, and lower economic output.

Tariffs could reduce US output through a few channels. One possibility is a tariff may be passed on to producers and consumers in the form of higher prices. Tariffs can raise the cost of parts and materials, which would raise the price of goods using those inputs and reduce private sector output. This would result in lower incomes for both owners of capital and workers. Similarly, higher consumer prices due to tariffs would reduce the after-tax value of both labor and capital income. Because higher prices would reduce the return to labor and capital, they would incentivize Americans to work and invest less, leading to lower output.

Alternatively, the US dollar may appreciate in response to tariffs, offsetting the potential price increase for US consumers. The more valuable dollar, however, would make it more difficult for exporters to sell their goods on the global market, resulting in lower revenues for exporters. This would also result in lower US output and incomes for both workers and owners of capital, reducing incentives for work and investment and leading to a smaller economy.

Many economists have evaluated the consequences of the trade war tariffs on the American economy, with results suggesting the tariffs have raised prices and lowered economic output and employment since the start of the trade war in 2018.

• A February 2018 analysis by economists Kadee Russ and Lydia Cox found that steel‐​consuming jobs outnumber steel‐​producing jobs 80 to 1, indicating greater job losses from steel tariffs than job gains.
• A March 2018 Chicago Booth survey of 43 economic experts revealed that 0 percent thought a US tariff on steel and aluminum would improve Americans’ welfare.
• An August 2018 analysis from economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York warned the Trump administration’s intent to use tariffs to narrow the trade deficit would reduce imports and US exports, resulting in little to no change in the trade deficit.
• A March 2019 National Bureau of Economic Research study conducted by Pablo D. Fajgelbaum and others found that the trade war tariffs did not lower the before-duties import prices of Chinese goods, resulting in US importers taking on the entire burden of import duties in the form of higher after-duty prices.
• An April 2019 University of Chicago study conducted by Aaron Flaaen, Ali Hortacsu, and Felix Tintelnot found that after the Trump administration imposed tariffs on washing machines, washer prices increased by $86 per unit and dryer prices increased by $92 per unit, due to package deals, ultimately resulting in an aggregate increase in consumer costs of over $1.5 billion.
• An April 2019 research publication from the International Monetary Fund used a range of general equilibrium models to estimate the effects of a 25 percent increase in tariffs on all trade between China and the US, and each model estimated that the higher tariffs would bring both countries significant economic losses.
• An October 2019 study by Alberto Cavallo and coauthors found tariffs on imports from China were almost fully passed through to US import prices but only partially to retail consumers, implying some businesses absorbed the higher tariffs, reducing retail margins, instead of passing them on to retail consumers.
• In December 2019, Federal Reserve economists Aaron Flaaen and Justin Pierce found a net decrease in manufacturing employment due to the tariffs, suggesting that the benefit of increased production in protected industries was outweighed by the consequences of rising input costs and retaliatory tariffs.
• A February 2020 paper from economists Kyle Handley, Fariha Kamal, and Ryan Monarch estimated the 2018–2019 import tariffs were equivalent to a 2 percent tariff on all US exports.
• A December 2021 review of the data and methods used to estimate the trade war effects through 2021, by Pablo Fajgelbaum and Amit Khandelwal, concluded that “US consumers of imported goods have borne the brunt of the tariffs through higher prices, and that the trade war has lowered aggregate real income in both the US and China, although not by large magnitudes relative to GDP.”
• A January 2022 study from the US Department of Agriculture estimated the direct export losses from the retaliatory tariffs totaled $27 billion from 2018 through the end of 2019.
• A May 2023 United States International Trade Commission report from Peter Herman and others found evidence for near complete pass-through of the steel, aluminum, and Chinese tariffs to US prices. It also found an estimated $2.8 billion production increase in industries protected by the steel and aluminum tariffs was met with a $3.4 billion production decrease in downstream industries affected by higher input prices.
• A January 2024 International Monetary Fund paper found that unexpected tariff shocks tend to reduce imports more than exports, leading to slight decreases in the trade deficit at the expense of persistent gross domestic product losses—for example, the study estimates reversing the 2018–2019 tariffs would increase US output by 4 percent over three years.
• A January 2024 study by David Autor and others concludes that the 2018–2019 tariffs failed to provide economic help to the heartland: import tariffs had “neither a sizable nor significant effect on US employment in regions with newly‐​protected sectors” and foreign retaliation “by contrast had clear negative employment impacts, particularly in agriculture.”

2018-2019 Trump Trade War Timeline

The Trump administration imposed several rounds of tariffs on steel, aluminum, washing machines, solar panels, and goods from China, affecting more than $380 billion worth of trade at the time of implementation and amounting to a tax increase of nearly $80 billion. The Biden administration maintained most tariffs, except for the suspension of certain tariffs on imports from the European Union, the replacement of tariffs with tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) on steel and aluminum from the European Union and United Kingdom and imports of steel from Japan, and the expiration of the tariffs on washing machines after a two-year extension. In May 2024, the Biden administration announced additional tariffs on $18 billion of Chinese goods for a tax increase of $3.6 billion.

Altogether, the trade war policies currently in place add up to $79 billion in tariffs based on trade levels at the time of tariff implementation. Note the total revenue generated will be less than our static estimate because tariffs reduce the volume of imports and are subject to evasion and avoidance (which directly lowers tariff revenues) and they reduce real income (which lowers other tax revenues).

Section 232, Steel and Aluminum

In March 2018, President Trump announced the administration would impose a 25 percent tariff on imported steel and a 10 percent tariff on imported aluminum. The value of imported steel totaled $29.4 billion, and the value of imported aluminum totaled $17.6 billion in 2018. Based on 2018 levels, the steel tariffs would have amounted to $9 billion and the aluminum tariffs to $1.8 billion. Several countries, however, have been excluded from the tariffs.

In early 2018, the US reached agreements to permanently exclude Australia from steel and aluminum tariffs, use quotas for steel imports from Brazil and South Korea, and use quotas for steel and aluminum imports from Argentina.

In May 2019, President Trump announced that the US was lifting tariffs on steel and aluminum from Canada and Mexico.

In 2020, President Trump expanded the scope of steel and aluminum tariffs to cover certain derivative products, totaling approximately $0.8 billion based on 2018 import levels.

In August 2020, President Trump announced that the US was reimposing tariffs on aluminum imports from Canada. The US imported approximately $2.5 billion worth of non-alloyed unwrought aluminum, resulting in a $0.25 billion tax increase. About a month later, the US eliminated the 10 percent tariff on Canadian aluminum that had just been reimposed.

In 2021 and 2022, the Biden administration reached deals to replace certain steel and aluminum tariffs with tariff rate quota systems, whereby certain levels of imports will not face tariffs, but imports above the thresholds will. TRQs for the European Union took effect on January 1, 2022; TRQs for Japan took effect on April 1, 2022; and TRQs for the UK took effect on June 1, 2022. Though the agreements on steel and aluminum tariffs will reduce the cost of tariffs paid by some US businesses, a quota system similarly leads to higher prices, and further, retaining tariffs at the margin continues the negative economic impact of the previous tariff policy.

Tariffs on steel, aluminum, and derivative goods currently account for $2.7 billion of the $79 billion in tariffs, based on initial import values. Current retaliation against Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs targets more than $6 billion worth of American products for an estimated total tax of approximately $1.6 billion.

Section 301, Chinese Products

Under the Trump administration, the United States Trade Representative began an investigation of China in August 2017, which culminated in a March 2018 report that found China was conducting unfair trade practices.

In March 2018, President Trump announced tariffs on up to $60 billion of imports from China. The administration soon published a list of about $50 billion worth of Chinese products to be subject to a new 25 percent tariff. The first tariffs began July 6, 2018, on $34 billion worth of Chinese imports, while tariffs on the remaining $16 billion went into effect August 23, 2018. These tariffs amount to a $12.5 billion tax increase.

In September 2018, the Trump administration imposed another round of Section 301 tariffs—10 percent on $200 billion worth of goods from China, amounting to a $20 billion tax increase.

In May 2019, the 10 percent tariffs increased to 25 percent, amounting to a $30 billion increase. That increase had been scheduled to take effect beginning in January 2019, but was delayed.

In August 2019, the Trump administration announced plans to impose a 10 percent tariff on approximately $300 billion worth of additional Chinese goods beginning on September 1, 2019, but soon followed with an announcement of schedule changes and certain exemptions.

In August 2019, the Trump administration decided that 4a tariffs would be 15 percent rather than the previously announced 10 percent, a $5.6 billion tax increase.

In September 2019, the Trump administration imposed “List 4a,” a 15 percent tariff on $112 billion of imports, an $11 billion tax increase. They announced plans for tariffs on the remaining $160 billion to take effect on December 15, 2019.

In December 2019, the administration reached a “Phase One” trade deal with China and agreed to postpone indefinitely the stage 4b tariffs of 15 percent on approximately $160 billion worth of goods that were scheduled to take effect December 15 and to reduce the stage 4a tariffs from 15 percent to 7.5 percent in January 2020, reducing tariff revenues by $8.4 billion.

In May 2024, the Biden administration published its required statutory review of the Section 301 tariffs, deciding to retain them and impose higher rates on $18 billion worth of goods. The new tariff rates range from 25 to 100 percent on semiconductors, steel and aluminum products, electric vehicles, batteries and battery parts, natural graphite and other critical materials, medical goods, magnets, cranes, and solar cells. Some of the tariff increases go into effect immediately, while others are scheduled for 2025 or 2026. Based on 2023 import values, the increases will add $3.6 billion in new taxes.

Section 301 tariffs on China currently account for $77 billion of the $79 billion in tariffs, based on initial import values. China has responded to the United States’ Section 301 tariffs with several rounds of tariffs on more than $106 billion worth of US goods, for an estimated tax of nearly $11.6 billion.

WTO Dispute, European Union

In October 2019, the United States won a nearly 15-year-long World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute against the European Union. The WTO ruling authorized the United States to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on $7.5 billion worth of EU goods. Beginning October 18, 2019, tariffs of 10 percent were to be applied on aircraft and 25 percent on agricultural and other products.

In summer 2021, the Biden administration reached an agreement to suspend the tariffs on the European Union for five years.

Section 201, Solar Panels and Washing Machines

In January 2018, the Trump administration announced it would begin imposing tariffs on washing machine imports for three years and solar cell and module imports for four years as the result of a Section 201 investigation.

In 2021, the Trump administration extended the washing machine tariffs for two years through February 2023, and they have now expired.

In 2022, the Biden administration extended the solar panel tariffs for four years, though later provided temporary two-year exemptions for imports from four Southeast Asian nations beginning in 2022, which account for a significant share of solar panel imports.

In 2024, the Biden administration removed separate exemptions for bifacial solar panels from the Section 201 tariffs. Additionally, the temporary two-year exemptions expired and the Biden administration is further investigating solar panel imports from the four Southeast Asian nations for additional tariffs.

We estimate the solar cell and module tariffs amounted to a $0.2 billion tax increase based on 2018 import values and quantities, while the washing machine tariffs amounted to a $0.4 billion tax increase based on 2018 import values and quantities.

We exclude the tariffs from our tariff totals given the broad exemptions and small magnitudes.

Trade Volumes Since Tariffs Were Imposed

Since the tariffs were imposed, imports of affected goods have fallen, even before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the biggest drops are the result of decreased trade with China, as affected imports decreased significantly after the tariffs and still remain below their pre-trade war levels. Even though trade with China fell after the imposition of tariffs, it did not fundamentally alter the overall balance of trade, as the reduction in trade with China was diverted to increased trade with other countries.

Table 6. Imports Affected by US Tariffs

Note: Steel totals exclude imports from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, South Korea, Canada, and Mexico. Aluminum totals exclude imports from Argentina, Australia, Canada, and Mexico. Beginning in 2022, steel totals also exclude imports from Japan, the EU, and the UK, and aluminum totals also exclude imports from the EU and the UK as respective imports are now subject to tariff-rate quotas (TRQs). Excluding all imports for TRQs overstates the savings from TRQs because tariffs still apply when imports exceed historical levels.

Source: Federal Register notices; Tom Lee and Jacqueline Varas, “The Total Cost of U.S. Tariffs,” American Action Forum, Mar. 24, 2022, https://www.americanactionforum.org/research/the-total-cost-of-tariffs/; data retrieved from USITC DataWeb.

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