Trump Repeatedly Walked Back Tariffs In First 100 Days As White House Announces Latest Duty Tax Relief

President Donald Trump has championed tariffs arsenic nan economical instrumentality that will bring parity to nan nation's chronic waste and acquisition shortage pinch overseas countries while boosting U.S. jobs and nan economy. But galore of Trump's tariff polices person been walked backmost aliases paused aft going into effect. 

"I will instantly statesman nan overhaul of our waste and acquisition strategy to protect American workers and families. Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich different countries, we will tariff and taxation overseas countries to enrich our citizens," Trump declared successful his inaugural reside Jan. 20, teeing up an onslaught of tariff policies that will return effect successful nan coming weeks and months. 

Tariffs are taxes levied connected imported equipment and services that historically person contributed to a nation's national taxation revenue. Developed countries, however, person since moved distant from relying connected tariffs arsenic a main root of national backing and person shifted to different forms of taxes — specified arsenic income, payroll aliases income taxes.

On Tuesday, which marked Trump's 100th time backmost successful nan Oval Office, Trump signed an executive action easing tariffs targeting car manufacturers arsenic he headed to Michigan, historically nan bosom of nan American car industry, for a rally celebrating his return to nan White House.

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President Donald Trump has championed tariffs arsenic nan economical instrumentality that will bring parity to nan nation's chronic waste and acquisition shortage pinch overseas countries while boosting U.S. jobs and nan economy.  (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

The upcoming car scheme will support a 25% tariff connected imported cars and a 25% tariff connected imported car parts but will connection offset credits to U.S. manufacturers for a two-year play successful an effort to bolster nan U.S. proviso concatenation of car parts and promote manufacturing successful nan U.S., according to nan administration. 

The scheme will besides not stack some car and alloy and aluminum tariffs connected nan car industry. Only nan higher tariff will beryllium applied to car manufacturers, not a mixed tariff. 

The announcement is nan latest of Trump stepping back, pausing aliases easing tariffs arsenic he looks to moreover nan waste and acquisition playing section for nan U.S., while encouraging U.S. manufacturing and occupation creation. Industries that manufacture products connected U.S. ungraded do not look immoderate tariffs. 

A White House charismatic who said to Fox News Digital explained that while nan past fewer months of tariff changes mightiness look chaotic successful their entirety, each alteration was calved retired of a request to beryllium elastic and an effort to bring manufacturing and jobs into nan U.S. while ending nan nation's chronic waste and acquisition deficit. The charismatic noted that, arsenic tariffs took effect, galore nations and manufacture leaders person made good-faith efforts to discuss position favorable to nan U.S., adding to nan tariff changes. 

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Trump's tariff policies overwhelmingly focused connected China, Mexico and Canada astatine nan commencement of his 2nd administration, arsenic he looked to ace down connected forbidden immigration. It besides was an effort to stem nan travel of nan deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl, which overwhelmingly originates successful China, from coming crossed nan bluish and confederate borders. 

Citing nan threat of forbidden aliens successful nan U.S. and nan travel of fentanyl, Trump declared a nationalist emergency successful February nether nan International Emergency Economic Powers Act and imposed a 25% tariff connected imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10% further tariff connected imports from China. 

The tariffs sparked swift outrage from nan 3 nations, and Trump paused nan tariffs connected Canada and Mexico for 30 days aft nan nations agreed to concessions, specified arsenic sending further information unit to their respective borders pinch nan U.S. 

Migrants locomotion on a roadworthy successful a caravan successful an effort to scope nan U.S. border, successful Tapachula, Mexico, successful November 2023.  (Jose Torres/Reuters)

China, connected nan different hand, imposed tariffs connected immoderate U.S. imports successful consequence to Trump's tariffs. China's Finance Ministry said Feb. 4, soon aft nan tariffs started, that it would enforce a tariff of 15% for ember and liquefied earthy state and 10% for crude oil, cultivation instrumentality and large-engine cars imported from nan U.S.

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The management charismatic who said to Fox Digital pointed to nan tariff changes for Mexico and Canada arsenic portion of negotiations to unafraid nan separator aft Trump declared a nationalist emergency nether nan International Emergency Economic Powers Act. 

The tariffs connected Mexico and Canada went into effect March 4 aft nan pause, while nan tariffs connected China were accrued to 20%. A time later, aft speaking pinch car manufacture officials from Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, Trump walked backmost nan tariffs if they affected nan car industry, granting a one-month exemption to tariffs "on immoderate autos" from nan 2 countries that abide by nan 2020 U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement's rules of origin.

Those rules were established nether nan first Trump administration, White House property caput Karoline Leavitt said astatine a  news convention astatine nan time. 

President Donald Trump (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

On March 6, Trump again walked backmost nan 25% tariffs connected galore imports from Canada and Mexico while praising Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum for helping unafraid nan U.S.-Mexico border. He postponed nan tariffs for 30 days and touted that his highly anticipated reciprocal tariff scheme would return effect successful nan coming weeks. 

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"I did this arsenic an accommodation, and retired of respect for, President Sheinbaum," Trump said connected Truth Social of nan March 6 tariff pause. "Our narration has been a very bully one, and we are moving hard, together, connected nan Border."

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum speaks during a property convention astatine nan National Palace successful Mexico City, Mexico, Jan. 8, 2025.  (Henry Romero/Reuters)

While announcing and imposing tariffs connected nations specified arsenic Mexico and Canada, Trump previewed a reciprocal tariff scheme that would return effect April 2. 

"On waste and acquisition I person decided for purposes of fairness, that I will charge a reciprocal tariff — meaning immoderate countries complaint nan United States of America, we will complaint them nary more, nary less," Trump said astatine nan White House successful February. "In different words, they complaint america a taxation aliases tariff, and we complaint them nan nonstop aforesaid taxation aliases tariff. Very simple." 

Trump announced his highly anticipated reciprocal tariff scheme arsenic portion of his "Liberation Day" announcement April 2. Trump announced customized tariffs connected dozens of nations to thief bring parity to what he said were decades of overseas nations installing trade barriers connected U.S. goods, while besides imposing a 10% baseline tariff connected each countries. 

"For nations that dainty america badly, we will cipher nan mixed complaint of each their tariffs, nonmonetary barriers and different forms of cheating," he said. "And because we are being very kind, we will complaint them astir half of what they are and person been charging us. So, nan tariffs will beryllium not a afloat reciprocal. I could person done that. Yes. But it would person been reliable for a batch of countries." 

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The EU for example, was deed pinch a 20% tariff successful nan reciprocal tariff plan, compared to its 39% tariffs connected nan U.S., while Japan saw 24% tariffs compared to nan 46% nan state charges nan U.S. China was deed pinch an additional 34% tariff, compared to nan 67% it charges nan U.S.

President Donald Trump speaks during a "Make America Wealthy Again" waste and acquisition announcement arena successful nan Rose Garden astatine nan White House April 2, 2025, successful Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

The aforesaid time nan reciprocal tariffs were astir to return effect April 9, Trump announced a 90-day region connected nan customized work taxes he had imposed connected dozens of nations, which was an abrupt alteration of people from his erstwhile comments that location would beryllium nary region to those tariffs, only negotiations. The region did not see nan 10% baseline tariff connected each nations. 

"You person to person flexibility," Trump told nan media erstwhile asked astir his credibility aft pausing nan tariffs. "I could opportunity there's a wall. ... Sometimes, you person to spell astir aliases nether nan wall. Financial markets change. Look really overmuch they changed. I deliberation nan connection would beryllium ‘flexible.’ You person to beryllium flexible."

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, President Donald Trump and Secretary of nan Treasury Scott Bessent  (Getty Images)

White House officials told Fox News Digital astatine nan clip that dozens of countries had reached retired to nan White House looking to make good-faith deals, and that nan management was zeroing successful connected renegotiating much favorable deals for nan U.S.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated successful caller days that trade negotiations pinch astatine slightest South Korea and India are entering nan last stages. 

Other tariffs, specified arsenic a 25% taxation connected each alloy and aluminum imports aliases nan 10% baseline tariff connected overseas nations, person remained successful effect without change. 

Trump has touted that pinch accrued gross from tariffs, U.S. citizens could spot little taxes and nan imaginable elimination of nan income tax.

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"When Tariffs trim in, galore people’s Income Taxes will beryllium substantially reduced, possibly moreover wholly eliminated. Focus will beryllium connected group making little than $200,000 a year," Trump wrote successful a station connected Truth Social April 13. 

"Also, monolithic numbers of jobs are already being created, pinch caller plants and factories presently being built aliases planned. It will beryllium a BONANZA FOR AMERICA!!! THE EXTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE IS HAPPENING!!!"

Fox News Digital's Eric Revell contributed to this report.