Trump’s tariffs explained: When do they start, and who is affected?

Trump first announced 'reciprocal' tariffs April 2
Days later, he paused most of those — excluding China
The 90-day pause is set to expire in July

Updated: May 2, 2025 / 08:30 AM CDT

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(NewsNation) — One hundred days into Donald Trump’s presidency, many questions on tariffs remain for consumers.

Trump first announced sweeping tariffs on dozens of countries at the beginning of April, days before pausing most of them for 90 days.

However, import taxes remained in place for products shipped from China. Popular budget retail brands like Temu and Shein have already responded by raising consumer prices. Known for their low-cost items, both companies said their operating expenses had increased due to “recent changes in global trade rules and tariffs.”

Those price changes started April 25, a week before the end of the so-called de minimis rule, which allows low-value packages to skip certain customs paperwork and enter the country duty-free.

Until Friday, the de minimis exemption allowed packages under $800 to come into the United States, mostly from China, without tariffs. The rule was created because import taxes would sometimes cost more than the package itself to ship from China to U.S. customers.

The exemption’s end is expected to raise prices and delay delivery times for millions of packages daily.

When do Trump’s tariffs start?

Trump’s tariffs have already started to take effect. A 10% baseline tariff on all countries began April 5.

On April 2, Trump signed an executive order to place what he called reciprocal tariffs on about 90 countries, deeming the day “Liberation Day in America” in efforts to erase a trade deficit. The move increased tariffs for several countries, from Japan and Vietnam in Asia to Israel and Syria in the Middle East to Nicaragua and Venezuela in Latin America.

On April 9, Trump authorized a 90-day pause on those increased tariffs — leaving the baseline 10% tariff — but raised the tax rate on Chinese imports to 145%.

Some Chinese companies have already passed the fee on to consumers. Some electronics, including smartphones, were excluded, although Apple CEO Tim Cook said the tariffs were projected to add $900 million to company costs for the June quarter. A majority of Apple’s production takes place in China.