President Trump Places Tariffs on Top Trading Partners

Late last week, President Trump announced that he would place conditional tariffs on all Mexican goods. If Mexico does not make additional efforts to stem the flow of migrants to the U.S.-Mexico border, President Trump has threatened to enact a 5 percent tariff on all Mexican goods on June 10. President Trump said he would increase the rate to 25 percent in the coming months if Mexico does not comply. Mexico has threatened to hit back with tariffs of its own, likely targeting farm products in Trump supporting states. Mexico is the biggest trading partner with the United States, bringing total trade in goods to over 150 billion, making up about 15 percent of all goods the U.S. trades.

President Trump has used tariffs as leverage to make good on campaign promises and policy that he has struggled to achieve through other avenues. Notably, the Trump administration is continuing a nearly 18-month long trade war started with China over intellectual property laws. China is now the third biggest trading partner with the U.S. as a result, totaling around 14 percent of all U.S. trade worth $132 billion.