Timeline: A Recent History of Tariffs
A look at the tariffs imposed from 2002 - 2024, and the stances of Sens. Schumer and Cornyn
Research assistance by James Rushmore
Tariffs have always been controversial, but they use to be a bit simpler.
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, 2002
President 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.
Dec. 4, 2003
Bush 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.
September 11, 2009
President 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.
January 22, 2018
Trump 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, 2018
Trump 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.
May 31, 2018
Trump announces the steel and aluminum tariffs will apply to Canada, Mexico and the EU.
June 15, 2018
Trump 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.
May 17, 2019
Trump 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.”
September 2, 2022
President Biden continues Trump’s tariffs against China.
May 14, 2024
Biden 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.
This article is exactly what journalism (and journalists should be). An in-depth reporting of a situation showing examples and arguments without necessarily taking a definite stance for or against a politician or political party. The very exposure of the facts helps the reader understand the situation and how grey the world actually is - not black and white.
My take on Trump is he is going extreme on everything and everyone and that gives him the best bargaining position. Then he'll work out individual deals with each country. People should sit back and watch. Should be interesting.