President Donald Trump has made some bold moves regarding international trade tariffs since he was inaugurated on January 20, 2025. During his brief time in office, his tariff decisions have given investors and political leaders alike whiplash with his on-again, off-again policies.
His decisions have upended financial markets and sent a wave of uncertainty through the global economy as countries scrambled to make deals and sought new partnerships to overcome any potential economic impact from the levies.
In the latest development, a US federal court blocked most of Trump’s sweeping “Liberation Day tariffs’ from going into effect, ruling that the president had overstepped his authority with the across-the-board global levies.
Here is a timeline of the major developments:
Feb 1 – Trump imposes 25% tariffs on Mexican and most Canadian imports and 10% on goods from China, demanding they curb the flow of fentanyl and illegal immigrants into the US.
Feb 3 – Trump suspends his threat of tariffs on Mexico and Canada, agreeing to a 30-day pause in return for concessions on border and crime enforcement. The US does not reach such a deal with China.
Feb 7 – Trump delays tariffs on de minimis, or low-cost, packages from China until the Commerce Department can confirm that procedures and systems are in place to process them and collect tariff revenue.
Feb 10 – Trump raises tariffs on steel and aluminum to a flat 25% “without exceptions or exemptions”.
Mar 3 – Trump says 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada will take effect from Mar 4 and doubles fentanyl-related tariffs on all Chinese imports to 20%.
Mar 5 – The president agrees to delay tariffs for one month on some vehicles built in Canada and Mexico after a call with the CEOs of General Motors and Ford and the chair of Stellantis.
Mar 6 – Trump exempts goods from Canada and Mexico under a North American trade pact for a month from the 25% tariffs.
Mar 26 – Trump unveils a 25% tariff on imported cars and light trucks.
Apr 2 – Trump announces global tariffs with a baseline of 10% across all imports and significantly higher duties on some of the US’ biggest trading partners.
ASEAN nations are among the most heavily hit, with countries such as Cambodia and Laos slapped with 49% and 48% import tariffs respectively.
Apr 8 – Singapore sets up a new task force to help businesses and workers tide through US tariffs.
The task force focuses on communication and information sharing and aims to help businesses and workers address immediate uncertainties, strengthen resilience and adapt to a new economic landscape.
Apr 9 – Trump pauses for 90 days most of his country-specific tariffs that kicked in less than 24 hours earlier following an upheaval in financial markets that erased trillions of dollars from bourses around the world.
The 10% blanket duty on almost all US imports stays in place.
Trump says he will raise the tariff on Chinese imports to 125% from the 104% level that took effect a day earlier. This pushes the extra duties on Chinese goods to 145%, including the fentanyl-related tariffs imposed earlier.
Apr 13 – The US administration grants exclusions from steep tariffs on smartphones, computers and some other electronics imported largely from China.
Apr 22 – The Trump administration launches national security probes under Section 232 of the Trade Act of 1962 into imports of both pharmaceuticals and semiconductors as part of a bid to impose tariffs on both sectors.
May 4 – Trump imposes a 100% tariff on all movies produced outside the US.
May 5 – Singapore enters a free trade agreement with the Pacific Alliance for three countries.
The FTA for Singapore, Peru and Chile was entered into force first, while Colombia and Mexico undergo their ratification processes.
The Pacific Alliance, comprising Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, is the ninth-largest economy in the world.
May 9 – Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announce a limited bilateral trade agreement that leaves in place 10% tariffs on British exports, modestly expands agricultural access for both countries and lowers prohibitive US duties on British car exports.
May 12 – The US and China agree to temporarily slash reciprocal tariffs. Under the 90-day truce, the US will cut the extra tariffs it imposed on Chinese imports to 30% from 145%, while China’s duties on US imports will be slashed to 10% from 125%.
May 13 – The US cuts the low value “de minimis” tariff on China shipments, reducing duties for items valued at up to US$800 to 54% from 120%.
May 23 – Trump says he is recommending a straight 50% tariff on goods from the European Union starting on Jun 1.
He also warned Apple would face 25% tariff if phones sold in the US were manufactured outside of the country.
May 25 – Trump backpedals on his threat to slap 50% tariffs on imports from the EU, agreeing to extend the deadline for talks between the US and the block until Jul 9.
May 26 – Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong suggests the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should aim to be100% tariff free within its free trade area.
At the 46th ASEAN summit, the leaders discussed new trade partners and ways to tackle US tariffs.
Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he had written to Trump to “seek his understanding” in organizing a US-ASEAN meeting aimed at discussing the tariffs in the spirit of ASEAN “centrality”.
May 27 – ASEAN, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and China pledge a new global cooperation model at the historic first ASEAN-GCC-China summit.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang called on the sides to build a model of “cross-regional openness”, referring to the economic and developmental potential of “fully connecting” the three regional markets.
May 28 – A US trade court blocked Trump’s tariffs from going into effect in a sweeping ruling that the president overstepped his authority by imposing across-the-board duties on imports from nations that sell more to the United States than they buy. The Trump administration said it would appeal the ruling.