Trump’s announcement of his intent to launch tariffs on both steel and aluminum imports have shaken global markets and resulted in an outcry from both policy experts and US trading partners. Here is a timeline of exactly how we got to this point;

The Runup

1. The initial hint that the administration of Trump might generate great returns on a campaign that will introduce new taxation policies on steel came when the Department of Commerce sent numerous recommendations to the White House. The recommendations included a 24% tariff on steel and a 7.7% tariff on aluminum.
2. The department has advised Trump to claim that the tariffs are being introduced in the favor of national security.
3. While the corporate sector has warned Trump that these tariffs could initiate a trade war between the countries, as the affected countries might retaliate by introducing tariffs of their own.
4. One such country is China which has already warned that if Trump goes forward with implementing these new policies, they will have to take action in order to safeguard their own businesses and interests.

Thursday

1. Trump announces that he wants to impose a 25% tax on steel and a 10% tax on aluminum.
2. The US stocks experienced a major downfall of more than 1% for Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500, however, this has benefited US steel which witnessed an increase in stock prices of about 6%. These tariffs will give domestic manufacturers an edge, as they will face less foreign competition. Nonetheless, if implemented, these tariffs are expected to raise the manufacturing costs of companies that are importing steel and aluminum.
3. Aside from China and Canada, the European Union are also against the implementation of these tariffs.
4. While local aluminum and steel manufacturers are in favor of these policies, but others in the corporate sector are not as welcoming of these new tariffs.

Friday

1. Other trading partners like Britain, Germany, and Australia, are also against the implementation of these new tariffs.
2. Stock markets across different countries are left shaken because of these new policies.
3. China has responded by stating that the US should follow the multilateral trade policies.
4. International trade experts also state that the trading partners of the US, as well as other countries, might retaliate by imposing tariffs of their own.
5. The European Union vowed that they will retaliate by imposing taxes American manufactured goods.
6. The Commerce Secretary Wilbur has supported Trump in his decision and has declared the rumors regarding the projected trade wars as baseless.
7. On the brighter side, some of the US stocks that had previously experienced a downfall are on their way to getting back on track.

Saturday

1. Trump has made his move to ensure that the supposed trade wars won’t affect the US trade by stating that he will impose further taxes.
2. The reason why President Trump has decided to impose these tariffs is to nullify the previous annual trade deficits of around 800 Billion dollars and bring jobs back to the US market.

Sunday

1. While the Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Shang Yesui claims that China has no intention of starting a trade war with the US, however, they might take some action.
2. According to the Commerce Secretary Ross, President Trump is adamant on implementing the trade tariffs on aluminum and steel imports to benefit local manufacturers and the economy as a whole. The US will be moving forward with a fair trade policy by making sure no country receives special treatment or is exempted from these tariffs.