Trump tariffs: Visualising new US trade restrictions

Since returning to the White House in January, US President Donald Trump has threatened and imposed a series of new tariffs.

The tariffs, which target major US trading partners, could upend traditional trading relations, creating significant uncertainty in the global economy.

For a better visual understanding of the tariffs and their possible impact, see the following infographics and be sure to revisit this page for insights on future developments.

In February, Trump announced plans to impose tariffs of 25% on all US steel and aluminium imports. The tariffs went into effect on 12 March, prompting retaliatory tariffs and escalating global trade tensions.

By contrast with the metals tariffs announced during the first Trump administration, the new tariffs do not include any country exemptions or product exclusions. The US imports about 25% of the steel it uses, and about 50% of its aluminium.

In response, the European Union announced that it would allow the suspension of existing countermeasures imposed during the first Trump presidency to lapse and would impose new retaliatory tariffs. The countermeasures will apply tariffs on roughly €26 billion of US good exports to the bloc.

The EU's retaliatory tariffs are set to go into effect in two-stages in early and mid-April.

On 4 March, the United States imposed tariffs of 25% on imports from Canada and Mexico. Imports of Canadian energy will face charges of 10%. Collectively, the tariffs affect over $900 billion worth of imports.

In response, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country would retaliate with tariffs of 25% on CAN$155 billion (US$107 billion) worth of US goods, with a phased in approach. Retaliatory actions are also expected from Mexico.

On 5 March, the White House announced that automakers will be exempt from the 25% tariffs for one month. President Trump granted the exemption at the behest of major US automakers, according to the White House. A day later, on 6 March, the US announced a nearly one-month delay for tariffs on Mexican and Canadian products that are covered by North America's free trade treaty.

President Trump also issued an executive order increasing tariffs on all imports from China by a further 10 percentage points, to 20% above their January levels. The US imported around $440 billion worth of goods from China in 2024.

In response, China announced tariffs of up to 15% on US agriculture goods, among other measures.

Together, the three targeted economies are the US’ top sources of imports.

Stock markets fell in response to the developments. Various experts expect the tariffs will curb growth and stoke inflation. Yet the full scale of the economic impact will in part depend on the retaliatory measures.

In mid-February, Trump announced plans for reciprocal tariffs and trade practices with partners. US officials will now be examining where trade partners charge higher tariffs on products than the US does for access to its market.

While these evaluations will most likely look at specific tariff lines, average applied tariffs are relatively symmetrical across major economies, with a few exceptions.

Trade experts have raised a few questions around how these changes will be implemented.

The current trade system is based on the “most-favoured nation” (MFN) principle where tariffs lowered for one World Trade Organization (WTO) member apply to all others. Nations can lower tariffs below MFN level for specific partners when they enter into a free trade deal. That becomes known as the applied tariff.

To benefit from an available lower tariff, importers need to provide documentation demonstrating product origin. Nations can also increase tariffs above MFN level for specific countries using anti-dumping or other special measures.

Notably, the Trump administration has indicated they will evaluate reciprocal trade based not just on partners’ tariff levels, but also on non-tariff barriers. These includes measures like foreign-government subsidies, value-added taxes and digital taxes.