Businesses Call for Stability as Retaliatory Tariff Announcements Stoke Concerns
13 March 2025
Since 20 January, when the American president took office, the news about international trade tariffs has come thick and fast, provoking rising tensions, and causing headaches for exporters and importers. The following timeline summarises the main announcements.
Timeline of announcements
1 February – Trump signs executive orders imposing 25% tariffs on all imports from Mexico and Canada (except Canadian oil and energy, which are subjected to a 10% tariff). A 10% tariff is imposed on Chinese goods, supplementing existing tariffs of up to 25% on various products. All are due to take effect 4 February.
3 February - Canada and Mexico negotiate a one-month delay in implementation.
4 February - EU trade ministers convene in Warsaw to address potential US tariffs on European goods.
7 February - EU proposes reducing tariffs on car imports, including those from the US, from 10% to a rate closer to the US tariff of 2.5%, in an aim to mitigate potential US tariffs on European goods.
10 February - President Trump announces a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminium imports, effective 12 March. This move eliminates previous exemptions and introduces requirement for steel to be "melted and poured" and aluminium to be "smelted and cast" within North America. In retaliation, China imposes a 15% tariff on coal and liquefied natural gas and a 10% tariff on crude oil and agricultural machinery from the US.
13 February - President Trump directs his administration to research custom reciprocal tariffs for every country, considering factors such as existing tariffs and trade balances. A report is expected within 180 days.
25 February - President Macron seeks to dissuade President Trump from initiating a trade war with Europe, encouraging a focus on addressing issues China instead.
3 March - President Trump confirms that the previously announced 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada will proceed as planned on 4 March. Additionally, tariffs on Chinese goods are increased by another 10%.
4 March - In response, Canada implements 25% tariffs on $30 billion worth of US goods, with plans to expand these measures to $125 billion in the coming weeks. China announces a 15% tariff on US chicken, wheat, corn, and cotton, and a 10% tariff on sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef, aquatic products, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products, effective March 10.
11 March - President Trump threatens to double tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium imports to 50% in retaliation for Ontario's 25% electricity surcharge on US states. Ontario announces the suspension of the 25% surcharge, aiming to de-escalate the dispute.
12 March - EU announces plans to impose counter-tariffs on €26 billion worth of US goods (including boats, bourbon, and motorbikes) starting 1 April, in response to US tariffs on steel and aluminium imports. President Trump withdraws the threat to double tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium imports.
Businesses Call for Stability
A number of factors mark this activity out as unusual. First: that the US has announced tariff hikes on imports from its closest neighbours and ostensible allies (Canada and Mexico) despite the three countries having formed a free-trade bloc in 2020: the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA). Second: a number of planned increases have subsequently been reversed, at equally short notice. Third: the breadth of tariffs being announced by the US, seemingly regardless of the likely impact. By contrast, some other countries prefer much more targeted actions in the form of export controls – such as the controls put on exports of semiconductors and specialist equipment related to that industry, by Japan and the Netherlands this year.
China has sought to portray itself as a stable trade partner during this time, a message that has been strengthened by the annual sight of its “Two Sessions” political gathering, which took place at the beginning of March; the Party proudly rolled out industrial and economic targets and strategies for the period up to 2035, and even as far as 2049 – though it should be noted that the latter year is highly symbolic, representing the 100th year of the People’s Republic.
“The world has looked quite different in the last few years. Tariffs and export controls are now part of economic statecraft and are working to impede free trade” wrote Sally Auld, chief economist for NAB, on 10 March in a comment piece for the Guardian
The influential Business Roundtable, which includes chairs and CEOs of some of the largest companies in the US, used a public statement last week to call on the White House to “preserve the benefits” of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) Quarterly Economic Forecast has revised down growth expectations for the year, as firms deal with a raft of rising costs, and also international uncertainties. It now expects UK exports to contract by 0.5% in 2025, instead of the 0.2% growth previously forecast. In 2026, BCC predicts that exports will recover slightly, by 1%, followed by a 2.1% rise in 2027.
BCC Head of Trade Policy William Bain said “Businesses will be looking to the UK government to continue dialogue, with the US, to resolve this situation and restore certainty for firms, which has been badly lacking over recent weeks”.
Alert and Agile
Businesses crave stability and certainty – in the face of rapid changes, the best remedy is to be both alert to relevant updates, and agile to respond quickly, so that stability is restored as quickly as possible.
Chamber International keeps on top of the latest developments as far as they impact the UK’s importers and exporters. Its regularly updated programme of seminars and workshops keep businesses up-to-date. CI also helps businesses improve their capacity and responsiveness for international trade, for instance through the Export Trade Accelerator programme.
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