Trump’s tariffs on steel, aluminum echo familiar playbook: A timeline

U.S. President Donald Trump’s determination to re-impose tariffs connected overseas alloy and aluminum imports is rocking Canadian industries, but whitethorn besides beryllium giving them a lawsuit of deja vu.

During his archetypal word successful 2018, Trump slapped duties connected alloy and aluminum portion the U.S. was successful the mediate of renegotiating a escaped commercialized statement with Canada and Mexico.

Trump cited those hard talks astatine the time, suggesting the 2 were related.

Trump is pursuing an adjacent much assertive tariff strategy this time, which volition apt pass negotiations during adjacent year’s scheduled reappraisal of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).

Canada and Mexico are inactive trying to debar much sweeping tariffs connected each exports to the U.S. that are presently connected clasp until March.

Here’s however Trump’s archetypal alloy and aluminum tariffs played retired alongside the talks that led to CUSMA, and however we got to this point:

May 18, 2017: The Trump medication formally kicks disconnected escaped commercialized talks by informing Congress it volition renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) wrong 90 days.

Aug. 16, 2017: NAFTA negotiations officially statesman betwixt the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The talks resistance connected for implicit a year, with Trump making large demands for American entree to Canadian and Mexican markets. Canada holds steadfast and adjacent threatens to locomotion distant from the negotiations aggregate times.

March 2018: Trump announces his intent to enforce a 25 per cent tariff connected each overseas alloy imports and a 10 per cent tariff connected aluminum imports, mounting a June 1 day for the duties to instrumentality effect.

Trump says the tariffs are indispensable to support American producers and U.S. nationalist security. He besides says Canada tin debar the tariffs if a “new & just NAFTA agreement” is signed and reiterates his cardinal demands for marketplace access.

A week aft his announcement, Trump says Canada and Mexico volition beryllium exempt from the tariffs for an undetermined period.

April 30, 2018: Trump extends the exemptions for Canada and Mexico for different 30 days to let for further negotiations, portion besides signing exemptions for 4 different countries: Brazil, South Korea, Australia and Argentina.

May 31, 2018: The U.S. tariffs connected Canada and Mexico spell into effect, with the Trump medication citing the NAFTA negotiations taking “longer than we had hoped.”

Canada announces its intent to enforce retaliatory tariffs connected the U.S.

July 1, 2018: Canada’s retaliatory tariffs instrumentality effect connected $16.6 cardinal successful U.S. exports to Canada. Targeted products see steel, aluminum, Harley Davidson motorcycles, American whiskey, Florida orangish foodstuff and ketchup. The authorities deliberately targets products with ample manufacturing bases successful the states of cardinal Republicans who enactment Trump.

Steel tube shaper Tenaris SA temporarily lays disconnected 40 workers and reorganizes its accumulation successful Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., the archetypal publicly-disclosed occupation losses successful Canada resulting from the U.S. alloy tariffs.

Sept. 30, 2018: Canada, the U.S. and Mexico denote they person reached a woody connected an updated mentation of NAFTA, which volition beryllium known arsenic the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), oregon CUSMA successful Canada.

Nov. 30, 2018: Trump, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and outgoing Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto formally motion the caller commercialized statement astatine the G20 acme successful Buenos Aires, Argentina.

January-March 2019: Canada, Mexico and adjacent immoderate U.S. Republican lawmakers accidental they won’t ratify CUSMA until the Trump medication lifts its alloy and aluminum tariffs.

Separately, Trump boasts that helium got Canada to hold to the caller commercialized woody aft threatening further tariffs connected Canadian-built vehicles and different products.

May 17, 2019: The U.S. and Canada denote an statement to assistance tariffs connected Canadian alloy and aluminum, arsenic good arsenic Canada’s retaliatory tariffs. Both governments assistance their respective tariffs 3 days later.

A time aft the woody is announced, Canada says it volition enactment to rapidly ratify CUSMA.

August 2019: Statistics Canada releases information connected the impacts of tariffs connected commercialized showing exports of some alloy and aluminum to the U.S. falling sharply aft May 2018. Steel exports fell 38 per cent successful June 2018 and by May 2019 were astatine their lowest level successful astir 10 years. Aluminum exports were connected mean 19 per cent little per period during the twelvemonth the tariffs were successful place, compared to 2017, and fell by implicit 50 per cent overall.

March 13, 2020: Parliament ratifies CUSMA done an expedited process owed to the COVID-19 pandemic, six weeks aft Trump signed the woody into law.

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July 1, 2020: CUSMA officially takes effect.

Aug. 6, 2020: Trump announces a program to enforce a caller 10 per cent tariff connected Canadian aluminum imports, taking effect connected Aug. 16, 2020. Canada vows to retaliate.

Sept. 15, 2020: The U.S. calls disconnected the tariffs, agreeing to retreat existent penalties earlier Canada’s retaliatory measures instrumentality effect.

May 2024: The U.S. Tax Foundation releases a study saying the alloy and aluminum tariffs during Trump’s archetypal word had a antagonistic interaction connected the U.S. economy, causing an estimated 75,000 occupation losses.

Nov. 5, 2024: Trump wins re-election aft promising repeatedly during his statesmanlike run that helium volition prosecute an assertive tariff argumentation successful his 2nd term. He besides took purpose astatine Canadian and Mexican car manufacturing and promised to reopen CUSMA to code “unfairness” and loopholes exploited by China.

Nov. 25, 2024: Trump threatens to enforce 25 per cent tariffs connected Canadian and Mexican products connected his archetypal time successful office, owed to borderline information issues astir fentanyl and amerciable immigration. He aboriginal adds the commercialized imbalance betwixt Canada and the U.S. to his database of reasons for imposing tariffs.

December 2024: Canada announces a $1.3-billion program to “bolster borderline security” and disrupt the travel of fentanyl. The authorities aboriginal says the program volition see caller helicopters and different resources for RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency.

Jan. 20, 2025: Trump signs an enforcement bid that kickstarts nationalist consultations and studies connected the impacts CUSMA has had connected American businesses, peculiarly farmers. Reports are owed backmost April 1. The consultations are the archetypal required measurement starring up to scheduled CUSMA reappraisal talks acceptable for 2026.

Feb. 1, 2025: Trump signs an enforcement bid to deed Canada with 25 per cent tariffs, with a little 10 per cent work for energy.

Trudeau announces Canada volition respond with an contiguous $30-billion retaliation package, which volition beryllium followed by $125 cardinal successful duties connected American products successful 21 days to springiness companies and proviso chains clip to find alternatives. Provinces denote their ain retaliatory measures, including bans connected U.S. concern contracts and American intoxicant sales.

Feb. 3, 2025: U.S. tariffs against Canada and Mexico are delayed for 30 days, with Trump claiming borderline information concessions from some countries. Canada and the provinces besides halt their moves to retaliate.

Feb. 9, 2025: Trump says helium volition formally denote 25 per cent tariffs connected each alloy and aluminum imports, including from Canada and Mexico, the pursuing day.

Feb. 10, 2025: Trump signs enforcement orders to enforce the alloy and aluminum tariffs starting March 4. He explicitly says determination volition beryllium nary exemptions, saying aggregate carve-outs to his 2018 tariffs undermined his intent to revive the American alloy and aluminum industries.

Bea Bruske, president of the Canadian Labour Congress, says Trump’s erstwhile alloy and aluminum tariffs had a “devastating impact” connected the industry, forcing 2,000 workers and 500 employers to trust connected exigency authorities support.

—With files from the Canadian Press