FAQ
01 01 For many global trade professionals, these are the words that are likely top of mind when it comes to the current tariff environment under President Trump’s tariff plan.
Today, both international and domestic companies are finding themselves caught in a vortex of
tariffs and counter-tariffs
as President Trump has unleashed sweeping and, in many cases, unprecedented tariffs.While the Trump administration remains steadfast in its position that President Trump’s tariff plan is an effective tactic to boost U.S.-based manufacturing, improve the trade balance, and, ultimately, increase federal government revenue, others are not so convinced. The concern among global trade professionals is growing.In fact, a
recent Thomson Reuters Institute survey
of nearly 300 corporate global trade professionals revealed such concern over President Trump’s tariffs.According to the survey, conducted online in March 2025, respondents from U.S.-based companies said they believe an average of 23%
of their imports are at risk because of U.S.-imposed tariffs. These Respondents from foreign-based companies expressed similar sentiments regarding their imports and exports.To better navigate the challenging trade environment, a growing number of global trade professionals are rethinking their sourcing patterns and turning to technology to help identify risks and map out strategies.Unfortunately, a great deal of uncertainty still exists, and the trade environment remains in flux with a revolving door of on-again, off-again tariffs. What is clear is that President Trump’s tariff plan depicts a long-term shift in the U.S. approach to global trade, as noted by 76% of survey respondents.
This article explores how President Trump’s first-term tariffs compare with his second-term tariffs and provides global trade professionals with actionable tips on how they can stay up to date with the changing situation.
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What is President Trump’s plan with tariffs?
What were Trump’s first term tariffs?
How are Trump’s second term tariffs different from his first term?
Is the USMCA still in effect?
What are the effects of the Trump-China trade war?
How can global trade professionals be prepared in uncertain times?
What is President Trump’s plan with tariffs?
As previously mentioned, President Trump’s tariff plan involves using tariffs as an economic tool to re-shore manufacturing, recalibrate the trade balance, and, ultimately, rake in trillions of dollars in federal government revenue.
While President Trump’s
“America First” agenda
is not exactly new,the inflection point came on April 2, 20 25. President Trump proclaimed “Liberation Day” and imposed, under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA), a universal 10% tariff on all countries. He ), but these tariffs have been paused until July 8.As noted
by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a bipartisan, nonprofit policy research organization, the announcement marked “the most sweeping tariff hike since the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, the 1930 law best remembered for triggering a global trade war and deepening the Great Depression.”President Trump argued that the strict measures were necessary and that the nation’s economic security was in jeopardy. According to the administration, the trade deficit in goods exceeded $1.2 trillion
in 2024 — a “national emergency” and “an unsustainable crisis.”Peter Navarro, a White House economic adviser, has projected that the
tariffs will generate $6 trillion in revenue over the next 10 years. However, this projection has been met with skepticism, and the toggling of on-again, off-again tariffs adds further to the uncertainty.Since the “
Liberation Day” proclamationon April 2nd, the flood of tariffs and counter-tariffs has shown little signs of slowing.What were Trump’s first-term tariffs? During President Trump’s first term, he used more traditional levers, imposing tariffs under Section 232 on imports of steel and aluminum products and
under
Section 301 on certain imports from China.More specifically, in 2018, President Trump imposed a 25% tariff on steel and a 10% tariff on aluminum imports. He Much like now, President Trump argued at that time that tariffs were necessary to fuel U.S. manufacturing and create more jobs.“
were more targeted in that way, and it was also targeted, most specifically, on China, but it utilized the
232 and [First-term tariffs] 301 tools for increasing tariffs and targeting tariffs,” said [Section]Andrew Moxon[Section], Senior Product Marketing Manager at Thomson Reuters. ” They also allowed for an exclusion process, which these new tariffs crucially do not.Continued Moxon, “Once were established and became part of how we were doing business and how the US government was pursuing trade, the Biden administration kept most of them on and continued to use those as levers.”
How are Trump’s second-term tariffs different from his first term?[the tariffs]President Trump’s second-term tariffs differ from his first-term tariffs in several significant ways. Not only are his second-term tariffs broader in scope, but his reliance on IEEPA to impose tariffs is unprecedented.
Noting the expansive scope of the tariffs, Moxon said, “The Trump tariffs in term #1 were not exclusive to China, but they were certainly very focused on China. 01 The All of this leads to a massive increase in the scope of the tariffs and the impact on the global economy and the global supply chain.”
It is also important to be aware that the tariffs have been expanded to include additional
steel[Now] and
aluminum
derivative materials, under two proclamations issued by President Trump in February.“The derivative materials have to be accounted for, and so you have to understand that level of your supply chain for the purposes of paying duty. Mo HTML The Barring any major changes, USMCA-compliant goods from Mexico and Canada are exempt from tariffs.In a statement issued April 2nd, the Trump administration clarified that “USMCA compliant goods will continue to see a 0% tariff, non-USMCA compliant goods will see a 25% tariff, and non-USMCA compliant energy and potash will see a 10% tariff.”
More recently, the
administration stated
that, effective May 3rd, auto parts that comply with the USMCA are now exempt from the 25% tariffs imposed on imported auto parts.
However, that’s not to say that concerns do not exist.“Levying tariffs on the partners that are signatory
… is at least counter to the spirit of a free trade agreement. It The The de minimis entry allowed goods valued at or less than $800 to enter the United States duty-free and exempt from import taxes.According to Thomson Reuters Institute research, the repercussions could be significant. More than 90% of packages arriving in the United States enter through de minimis
entry ports, with around 60% coming from China alone.
Furthermore, 65% of respondents said they think the elimination of de minimis as an entry option will have a high or moderate impact on their imports.
As impacted companies explore alternative options, including origin engineering, classification engineering, and near-shoring, they are also coming to terms with the consensus that the escalating trade war has altered the relationship between the United States and China.
“What has happened now is a real escalation,” said Moxon. ” There There are a lot of supply chains that include China.”How can global trade professionals be prepared in uncertain times?There’s no denying that the tariff environment has experienced swift and drastic change in a short period of time, leaving many global trade professionals reeling from the deluge of changes. That’s why it has never been more important to have access to reliable sources of regulatory global trade content and analytics.
“It really cannot be overstated the importance of having a reliable source of data,” said Moxon. ” Manage To Thomson Reuters ONESOURCE Global Classification automatically compares unique information, such as product attributes, weights, measures, trademarks, Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) codes, etc., with the WCO Harmonized System (HS) database. O
