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Timeline: A Recent History of Tariffs
Illustration by Daniel Medina
Research assistance by James Rushmore
Tariffs have always been controversial, but they use to be a bit simpler.
Racket News is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
There was the retaliatory chicken tax in 1964. West Germany placed tariffs on our poultry, so LBJ responded with a 25% tariff on light trucks.
I don’t know anyone who questions Ronald Reagan’s free trade bonafides, yet he imposed a 45% tariff on imported motorcycles to protect Harley Davidson. Japanese bikes were overtaking the market. The motorcycle tariff, as it became known, expired in 1988. I should probably be thankful for that since I ride a Yamaha.
My first experience dealing with tariffs as a journalist was in 2002. President George W. Bush imposed tariffs on steel because countries were “dumping” steel in the U.S. at below-market prices. Steel companies were filing bankruptcy and laying off workers. It seemed so obvious that something needed to be done.
But it’s a little more complicated. I didn’t realize at the time that lots of people and companies really don’t care where their shit comes from. Companies that need steel were used to cheap prices, and they suddenly had to pay higher prices. There are plenty of studies that say those companies lost more jobs than the number of people employed in the steel-producing industry.
The World Trade Organization, formed in 1995, eventually ruled the Bush tariffs were illegal. It’s ruled against America a lot, leading to accusations of anti-American bias. The Trump Administration has suspended payments to the WTO.
I don’t think Trump will care how the WTO rules on his “Liberation Day” tariffs, which hit the usual suspects (China) and the not-so-usual. Lesotho, a country in Africa that I suspect many Americans cannot locate on a map, topped Trump’s list at 50%.
My former colleague, Peter Savodnik, wrote about The Great Scramble in American politics — and that seems to be playing out when it comes to tariffs. A Wall Street Journal poll found that 77% of Republicans have a positive view of them, while 93% of Democrats have a negative view. The poll was taken shortly before Trump announced his tariffs last week.
It’s interesting to see attitudes shift on Capitol Hill, too. Sen. Jon Cornyn, R-Texas, is one who stands out. Back in 2018, he voiced concern about Trump’s tariffs against China, calling them a “mixed message” and saying it’s not a given that automobile companies like Toyota will “continue to build cars in the United States if that were to change, the rules of origin.”
Today, he’s on board with Trump’s tariffs.
In the video above, Cornyn says:
Part of the problem is we’ve sort of become accustomed to other countries treating us differently that we treat them. Part of the reuslt of that is we’ve offshored a lot of manufacturing outside of the United States. Part of President Trump’s, what’s he’s hoping for, is we can attract more businesses to come back and manufacture goods in the United States.
In 2023, Cornyn said it was time to move on from Trump. Not anymore:
On the Democratic side, there’s Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. In 2009, he supported President Obama’s 35% tariffs on Chinese tires. At the time, Goodyear had tire plants in Buffalo and Niagara Falls. The plant in Buffalo has since shut down.
Schumer also supported President Trump’s 2018 tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum.
“Today he is doing the right thing,” Schumer said the day Trump announced the tariffs. Schumer said something needed to be done to respond to China stealing U.S. intellectual property.
In 2024, he sang the same tune when President Biden expanded Trump’s tariffs:
Fighting the CCP’s unfair trade practices is something I have cared about for a very long time. It was one of the very first issues I focused on when I first visited upstate New York as a Senator and saw for myself jobs leaving our shores. The CCP has shown they will stop at nothing to steal our intellectual property and undermine our economy.
In the last week, “grandma” has been in a lot of his anti-tariff talking points:
He also says tariffs should have been “pinpointed and targeted” instead of a “massive assault on American families.”
I don’t think it’s so simple. There are certainly a lot of people who feel they’ve been under assault by the status quo.
Below is a list of tariffs that America has imposed since 2002 leading up to President Trump’s second term.
March 5, 2002President George W. Bush imposes tariffs on steel, targeting China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Germany and Brazil. They are to last for three years, starting at 30% and tapering to 18% in the third year.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., praised the action but added: “I am not confident that the problems of the steel industry are on their way to being solved” in part because the 30% rate only lasts for one year.
03 05 2002 Components Of The President's Decision162KB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownload03 05 2002 President Announces Temporary Safeguards For Steel Industry172KB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownload03 05 2002 Steel Products Proclamation152KB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownload07 04 2002 USTR Proclamation136KB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownloadDec. 4, 2003Bush rescinds the steel tariffs. The decision comes nearly a month after the World Trade Organization rules the tariffs were illegal, and gives countries they targeted the right to impose $2.2 billion in retaliatory tariffs.
“The President's complete lack of mettle in calling the W.T.O.'s bluff ignores the continuing damage being done," said Leo Gerard, the president of the United Steelworkers of America.
12 04 2003 President's Statement On Steel149KB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownload12 04 2003 To Provide For The Termination Of Action Taken With Regard To Imports Of Certain Steel Products By The President Of The United States Of America A Proclamation145KB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownloadSeptember 11, 2009President Obama imposes a three-year tariff on Chinese tires that had been flooding the market since 2004. The tariffs start at 35% and go down to 25% by the third year.
The New York Times reports that four tire plants have shut down and more are scheduled to close.
The United Steelworkers Union says the tariffs stabilized the American tire industry. Chinese imports dropped significantly, but tires from South Korea, Taiwan and Indonesia took their place, the Los Angeles Times reports in this 2016 story, which was pegged to Trump talking about tariffs on the campaign trail.
09 11 2009 Memorandum For Secretary Of Commerce, Secretary Of Labor, United State Trade Representative200KB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownload09 11 2009 Proclamation To Address Market Disruption From Imports Of Certain Passenger Vehicle And Light Truck Tires202KB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownload02 2016 Standing Up For American Workers And Businesses The Obama Administration's Trade Enforcement Record498KB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownloadJanuary 22, 2018Trump announces tariffs of 20 to 50% on washing machines and parts that decrease over three years, and 30% on solar panels and cells. The tariffs apply to any country, but are directed at China.
March 8, 2018Trump announces tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum, but temporarily excludes Canada and Mexico. He later excludes Argentina, Brazil, Australia and South Korea, and the European Union.
05 31 2018 President Donald J129KB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownloadSection 301 Final2.88MB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownloadMay 31, 2018Trump announces the steel and aluminum tariffs will apply to Canada, Mexico and the EU.
05 31 2018 President Donald J129KB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownloadJune 15, 2018Trump announces 25% tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese technology products “in light of China’s theft of intellectual property and technology and its other unfair trade practices.”
Trump adds another $200 billion in Chinese products at 10% after China imposes retaliatory retaliatory tariffs on $50 billion in American products.
06 15 2018 Statement By The President Regarding Trade With China131KB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownload06 18 2018 Statement From The President Regarding Trade With China130KB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownloadMay 17, 2019Trump removes tariffs he imposed on Mexico and Canada nearly a year earlier, but then nearly two weeks later imposes a 5% tariff on all products from Mexico because of illegal immigration at the southern border. Trump says:
Mexico’s passive cooperation in allowing this mass incursion constitutes an emergency and extraordinary threat to the national security and economy of the United States.
Trump says the tariffs will escalate to 25% and remain “until Mexico substantially stops the illegal inflow of aliens coming through its territory.”
05 19 2019 Proclamation On Adjusting Imports Of Aluminum Into The United States146KB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownload05 30 2019 Statement From The President Regarding Emergency Measures To Address The Border Crisis148KB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownloadSeptember 2, 2022President Biden continues Trump’s tariffs against China.
May 14, 2024Biden increases tariffs on $18 billion in Chinese products. They include:
A 100% tariff on electric vehicles
A 50% tariff on solar products
A 25% tariff on other products such as steel and EV batteries.
Biden has strong words for China in making the announcement:
Sometimes they just outright steal through cyber espionage and other means. And it’s been a well-documented inter- — and internationally recognized. When you make tactics like these, they are — they’re — you’re not competing. It’s not competition. It’s cheating. And we’ve seen the damage here in America.
05 14 2024 Remarks By President Biden On His Actions To Protect American Workers And Businesses From China’s Unfair Trade Practices109KB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownloadRacket News is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
View all episodes
Illustration by Daniel Medina
Research assistance by James Rushmore
Tariffs have always been controversial, but they use to be a bit simpler.
Racket News is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
There was the retaliatory chicken tax in 1964. West Germany placed tariffs on our poultry, so LBJ responded with a 25% tariff on light trucks.
I don’t know anyone who questions Ronald Reagan’s free trade bonafides, yet he imposed a 45% tariff on imported motorcycles to protect Harley Davidson. Japanese bikes were overtaking the market. The motorcycle tariff, as it became known, expired in 1988. I should probably be thankful for that since I ride a Yamaha.
My first experience dealing with tariffs as a journalist was in 2002. President George W. Bush imposed tariffs on steel because countries were “dumping” steel in the U.S. at below-market prices. Steel companies were filing bankruptcy and laying off workers. It seemed so obvious that something needed to be done.
But it’s a little more complicated. I didn’t realize at the time that lots of people and companies really don’t care where their shit comes from. Companies that need steel were used to cheap prices, and they suddenly had to pay higher prices. There are plenty of studies that say those companies lost more jobs than the number of people employed in the steel-producing industry.
The World Trade Organization, formed in 1995, eventually ruled the Bush tariffs were illegal. It’s ruled against America a lot, leading to accusations of anti-American bias. The Trump Administration has suspended payments to the WTO.
I don’t think Trump will care how the WTO rules on his “Liberation Day” tariffs, which hit the usual suspects (China) and the not-so-usual. Lesotho, a country in Africa that I suspect many Americans cannot locate on a map, topped Trump’s list at 50%.
My former colleague, Peter Savodnik, wrote about The Great Scramble in American politics — and that seems to be playing out when it comes to tariffs. A Wall Street Journal poll found that 77% of Republicans have a positive view of them, while 93% of Democrats have a negative view. The poll was taken shortly before Trump announced his tariffs last week.
It’s interesting to see attitudes shift on Capitol Hill, too. Sen. Jon Cornyn, R-Texas, is one who stands out. Back in 2018, he voiced concern about Trump’s tariffs against China, calling them a “mixed message” and saying it’s not a given that automobile companies like Toyota will “continue to build cars in the United States if that were to change, the rules of origin.”
Today, he’s on board with Trump’s tariffs.
In the video above, Cornyn says:
Part of the problem is we’ve sort of become accustomed to other countries treating us differently that we treat them. Part of the reuslt of that is we’ve offshored a lot of manufacturing outside of the United States. Part of President Trump’s, what’s he’s hoping for, is we can attract more businesses to come back and manufacture goods in the United States.
In 2023, Cornyn said it was time to move on from Trump. Not anymore:
On the Democratic side, there’s Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. In 2009, he supported President Obama’s 35% tariffs on Chinese tires. At the time, Goodyear had tire plants in Buffalo and Niagara Falls. The plant in Buffalo has since shut down.
Schumer also supported President Trump’s 2018 tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum.
“Today he is doing the right thing,” Schumer said the day Trump announced the tariffs. Schumer said something needed to be done to respond to China stealing U.S. intellectual property.
In 2024, he sang the same tune when President Biden expanded Trump’s tariffs:
Fighting the CCP’s unfair trade practices is something I have cared about for a very long time. It was one of the very first issues I focused on when I first visited upstate New York as a Senator and saw for myself jobs leaving our shores. The CCP has shown they will stop at nothing to steal our intellectual property and undermine our economy.
In the last week, “grandma” has been in a lot of his anti-tariff talking points:
He also says tariffs should have been “pinpointed and targeted” instead of a “massive assault on American families.”
I don’t think it’s so simple. There are certainly a lot of people who feel they’ve been under assault by the status quo.
Below is a list of tariffs that America has imposed since 2002 leading up to President Trump’s second term.
March 5, 2002President George W. Bush imposes tariffs on steel, targeting China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Germany and Brazil. They are to last for three years, starting at 30% and tapering to 18% in the third year.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., praised the action but added: “I am not confident that the problems of the steel industry are on their way to being solved” in part because the 30% rate only lasts for one year.
03 05 2002 Components Of The President's Decision162KB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownload03 05 2002 President Announces Temporary Safeguards For Steel Industry172KB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownload03 05 2002 Steel Products Proclamation152KB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownload07 04 2002 USTR Proclamation136KB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownloadDec. 4, 2003Bush rescinds the steel tariffs. The decision comes nearly a month after the World Trade Organization rules the tariffs were illegal, and gives countries they targeted the right to impose $2.2 billion in retaliatory tariffs.
“The President's complete lack of mettle in calling the W.T.O.'s bluff ignores the continuing damage being done," said Leo Gerard, the president of the United Steelworkers of America.
12 04 2003 President's Statement On Steel149KB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownload12 04 2003 To Provide For The Termination Of Action Taken With Regard To Imports Of Certain Steel Products By The President Of The United States Of America A Proclamation145KB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownloadSeptember 11, 2009President Obama imposes a three-year tariff on Chinese tires that had been flooding the market since 2004. The tariffs start at 35% and go down to 25% by the third year.
The New York Times reports that four tire plants have shut down and more are scheduled to close.
The United Steelworkers Union says the tariffs stabilized the American tire industry. Chinese imports dropped significantly, but tires from South Korea, Taiwan and Indonesia took their place, the Los Angeles Times reports in this 2016 story, which was pegged to Trump talking about tariffs on the campaign trail.
09 11 2009 Memorandum For Secretary Of Commerce, Secretary Of Labor, United State Trade Representative200KB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownload09 11 2009 Proclamation To Address Market Disruption From Imports Of Certain Passenger Vehicle And Light Truck Tires202KB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownload02 2016 Standing Up For American Workers And Businesses The Obama Administration's Trade Enforcement Record498KB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownloadJanuary 22, 2018Trump announces tariffs of 20 to 50% on washing machines and parts that decrease over three years, and 30% on solar panels and cells. The tariffs apply to any country, but are directed at China.
March 8, 2018Trump announces tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum, but temporarily excludes Canada and Mexico. He later excludes Argentina, Brazil, Australia and South Korea, and the European Union.
05 31 2018 President Donald J129KB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownloadSection 301 Final2.88MB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownloadMay 31, 2018Trump announces the steel and aluminum tariffs will apply to Canada, Mexico and the EU.
05 31 2018 President Donald J129KB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownloadJune 15, 2018Trump announces 25% tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese technology products “in light of China’s theft of intellectual property and technology and its other unfair trade practices.”
Trump adds another $200 billion in Chinese products at 10% after China imposes retaliatory retaliatory tariffs on $50 billion in American products.
06 15 2018 Statement By The President Regarding Trade With China131KB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownload06 18 2018 Statement From The President Regarding Trade With China130KB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownloadMay 17, 2019Trump removes tariffs he imposed on Mexico and Canada nearly a year earlier, but then nearly two weeks later imposes a 5% tariff on all products from Mexico because of illegal immigration at the southern border. Trump says:
Mexico’s passive cooperation in allowing this mass incursion constitutes an emergency and extraordinary threat to the national security and economy of the United States.
Trump says the tariffs will escalate to 25% and remain “until Mexico substantially stops the illegal inflow of aliens coming through its territory.”
05 19 2019 Proclamation On Adjusting Imports Of Aluminum Into The United States146KB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownload05 30 2019 Statement From The President Regarding Emergency Measures To Address The Border Crisis148KB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownloadSeptember 2, 2022President Biden continues Trump’s tariffs against China.
May 14, 2024Biden increases tariffs on $18 billion in Chinese products. They include:
A 100% tariff on electric vehicles
A 50% tariff on solar products
A 25% tariff on other products such as steel and EV batteries.
Biden has strong words for China in making the announcement:
Sometimes they just outright steal through cyber espionage and other means. And it’s been a well-documented inter- — and internationally recognized. When you make tactics like these, they are — they’re — you’re not competing. It’s not competition. It’s cheating. And we’ve seen the damage here in America.
05 14 2024 Remarks By President Biden On His Actions To Protect American Workers And Businesses From China’s Unfair Trade Practices109KB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownloadRacket News is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.