On Monday, February 10th, the retaliatory tariffs imposed by the Communist Party of China on U.S. imports officially took effect in response to the 10% tariff increase on all Chinese products by the United States starting on February 4th. This move aimed to counter the escalating trade tensions reminiscent of the trade war between the U.S. and China during former President Trump’s first term.
The trade war dominated much of Trump’s first term as president, and President Biden’s four years in office have seen a continuation of most of Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods.
With Trump set to announce a 25% tariff increase on imported steel and aluminum, there is a possibility of the new frictions escalating into a full-blown trade war. Here is a timeline of the U.S.-China trade war since Trump’s first term, as summarized by the Associated Press:
Shortly after taking office as President of the United States, Trump signed an executive order to strengthen tariff enforcement in anti-dumping cases, aiming to reduce the trade deficit between the U.S. and other countries.
During a visit to Beijing, Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping reached a consensus on a “One Hundred Day Trade Negotiation” plan aimed at reducing the U.S. trade deficit with China. However, the trade negotiations collapsed in July of that year.
Trump initiated an investigation into China’s alleged theft of U.S. intellectual property. The U.S. estimates that this behavior results in annual losses of up to $600 billion.
The U.S. announced a 30% tariff on imported solar panels, which primarily come from China.
China retaliated by imposing tariffs on around $30 billion worth of U.S. imports, including products like fruits, nuts, wine, and steel pipes at 15% and pork, recycled aluminum, and six other products at 25%.
The next day, the U.S. escalated the tariff war by imposing a 25% tariff on about $500 billion worth of Chinese goods in the aerospace, machinery, and medical industries. In retaliation, China imposed a 25% tariff on U.S. goods such as airplanes, cars, soybeans, and chemicals, also worth around $500 billion.
The U.S. and China engaged in at least three rounds of escalating tariffs affecting over $250 billion worth of Chinese goods exported to the U.S. and over $110 billion worth of American goods exported to China. This included the imposition of a 10% tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods that took effect in September 2018, with plans to increase the tariff to 25% on January 1, 2019 if no agreement was reached.
After agreeing to halt new tariff impositions in December 2018, the U.S. and China failed to reach a trade agreement. Following the breakdown of negotiations, Trump raised the tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10% to 25%.
The U.S. banned Chinese technology company Huawei from purchasing components from American companies.
Trump and Xi Jinping agreed to restart trade negotiations over the phone, but negotiations were repeatedly stalled over the next five months.
The U.S. and China signed the “Phase One Trade Agreement,” with China committing to purchasing an additional $200 billion in U.S. goods and services over the next two years. However, a report from the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) later found that China had essentially not fulfilled its purchasing commitments.
Upon assuming office, Biden retained most of the tariff measures enacted during the Trump era and in October 2022, he introduced comprehensive new restrictions on exports of semiconductors and chip manufacturing equipment to China. These restrictions were further escalated in October 2023 and December 2024.
During his presidential campaign activities in February 2024, Trump stated that if he won the U.S. election, he planned to impose at least a 60% tariff on all Chinese imports.
In May 2024, Biden announced an increase in tariffs on Chinese products such as electric cars, semiconductors, solar panels, steel, aluminum, and medical equipment. This included a 100% tariff on Chinese electric cars and a 50% tariff on solar panels.
February 4, 2025 marked the effective date of the new U.S. government’s 10% tariff increase on all Chinese products. On the same day, Beijing announced a series of retaliatory measures, including a 15% tariff on coal and liquefied natural gas products imported from the U.S., and a 10% tariff on crude oil, agricultural machinery, and large engine vehicles imported from the U.S., with the tariffs taking effect on February 10th.
China also announced an antitrust investigation against the U.S. company Google and strengthened export controls on critical minerals. Additionally, China added two U.S. companies to its “Unreliable Entity” blacklist.