Explainer | US-China trade war: timeline of key dates and events since July 2018

The US-China trade war began in July 2018, eventually leading to tariffs on some US$550 billion of Chinese goods and US$185 billion of US goods

A phase-one trade deal was signed in January 2020, but China bought less than 60 per cent of the US exports it had committed to over the two years of the agreement

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A phase-one trade deal between the two sides was signed in January 2020, but China bought less than 60 per cent of the US exports it had committed to over the two years of the agreement. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 4:03am, 15 May 2022Updated: 1:07pm, 6 Jul 2022

The US-China trade war began in July 2018 under the administration of then-US president Donald Trump, eventually leading to tariffs on about US$550 billion worth of Chinese goods and US$185 billion worth of US goods.

A phase-one trade deal between the two sides was signed in January 2020, but China would go on to buy less than 60 per cent of the US exports that it had committed to over the two years of the agreement.

06/07/2018: US-China trade war begins

US places 25 per cent duties on around US$34 billion worth of imports from China, including cars, hard disks and aircraft parts. China retaliates by imposing a 25 per cent tariff on 545 goods originating from the US worth US$34 billion, including agricultural products, automobiles and aquatic products.

23/08/2018: US imposes 25 per cent tariffs on a further US$16 billion worth of Chinese goods

Washington imposes 25 per cent tariffs on another US$16 billion of Chinese goods, including iron and steel products, electrical machinery, railway products, instruments and apparatus. China responds by applying 25 per cent tariffs on US$16 billion of US goods, including Harley-Davidson motorcycles, bourbon and orange juice.

24/09/2018: US places tariffs on US$200 billion worth of Chinese imports, China responds

US places 10 per cent taxes on US$200 billion of Chinese imports. China responds by placing customs duties on US$60 billion worth of US goods.

01/12/2018: Xi, Trump call a truce in the trade war at the G20 summit

Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump agree to a 90-day trade truce to allow for further talks to address US concerns after China committed to buying a “very substantial” amount of American exports.

10/05/2019: US increases tariffs on US$200 billion worth of Chinese goods

After trade negotiations break down, the US increases tariffs on US$200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10 per cent to 25 per cent. China responds by announcing that it will increase tariffs on US$60 billion worth of US goods from June 1.

US-China trade war timeline since July 2018

Date (DD/MM/YYYY)	Event
06/07/2018	US-China trade war begins as US imposes 25 per cent tariffs on US$34 billion worth of Chinese imports
06/07/2018	China retaliates by imposing 25 per cent tariffs on 545 goods originating from the US worth US$34 billion
23/08/2018	Washington imposes 25 per cent tariffs on a further US$16 billion worth of Chinese goods
23/08/2018	China responds by applying 25 per cent tariffs on US$16 billion worth of US goods
24/09/2018	US places 10 per cent tariffs on US$200 billion worth of Chinese imports
24/09/2018	China responds by placing customs duties on US$60 billion worth of US goods
01/12/2018	Xi Jinping and US counterpart Donald Trump call a truce in the trade war at the G20 summit in Argentina
10/05/2019	After trade negotiations break down, US increases tariffs on US$200 billion worth of Chinese goods, from 10 to 25 per cent
15/05/2019	US Department of Commerce announces the addition of Huawei to its “entity list”
31/05/2019	China announces plans to establish its own “unreliable entity list”
01/06/2019	China increases tariffs on US$60 billion worth of US products
29/06/2019	Xi Jinping and Donald Trump again agree to a trade war truce, this time at the G20 summit in Japan
05/08/2019	US designates China as a “currency manipulator”
13/08/2019	US announces that various planned levies on US$455 billion worth of Chinese products have either been delayed or removed
23/08/2019	China announces planned tariffs of 5 and 10 per cent on US$75 billion worth of US goods
01/09/2019	US tariffs on more than US$125 billion worth of Chinese imports begin as expected
11/09/2019	US agrees to briefly delay new tariffs on US$250 billion worth of Chinese goods
11/10/2019	US announces that it will delay a planned tariff increase of 25 to 30 per cent on US$250 billion worth of Chinese goods
15/01/2020	China and the US sign the phase-one trade deal
14/02/2020	China halves additional tariffs on US$75 billion worth of American products imposed in 2019
12/05/2020	China announces a second batch of trade-war-tariff exemptions covering 79 American products
14/05/2020	China allows imports of barley and blueberries from the US
01/09/2020	Dozens of US imports from China are granted short extensions to previous tariff exemptions
14/09/2020	US customs agency issues “withhold release orders” banning cotton, apparel, hair products and computer parts from four Xinjiang companies
15/09/2020	China decides to exempt additional tariffs on a batch of 16 US products for another year
02/12/2020	US government says it will begin to block the import of all cotton products made by the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC)
02/12/2020	US president-elect Joe Biden tells The New York Times he will not make any “immediate moves” to lift trade war tariffs
18/02/2021	US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says that tariffs on China will be “kept in place”
27/05/2021	Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai speak in the first trade talks since August 2020
02/06/2021	Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He holds a “candid” exchange on issues of concern with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen
10/06/2021	Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao speaks with his American counterpart Gina Raimondo
15/07/2021	US says it has no intention to resume highest-level bilateral forum
19/07/2021	Trade deal didn’t address "fundamental problems", Yellen says
04/10/2021	USTR says that the Biden administration will "keep open the potential for additional exclusion processes, as some tariffs are causing significant commercial harm to US interests"
08/10/2021	Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai speak by telephone
01/11/2021	US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says the United States expects China to meet its commitments under the phase-one trade deal
04/11/2021	Sinopec, China’s state-owned oil giant, signs a contract with the US Venture Global LNG to buy 4 million tonnes of LNG annually for 20 years
09/11/2021	US extends ban that prohibits American investments in Chinese companies that have alleged ties with the Chinese military
16/11/2021	Presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden hold their first video call
19/01/2022	US President Joe Biden says he won’t lift tariffs on Chinese imports since Beijing has not abided by the phase-one trade deal
26/01/2022	WTO authorises China to impose US$645 million of compensatory tariffs against the US after a decade-long case into alleged subsidies
08/02/2022	Report says China bought only 57 per cent of the US exports it committed to purchase under the phase-one trade deal
23/03/2022	US reinstates tariff exemptions on more than 350 Chinese imports
22/04/2022	US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says lifting tariffs on certain Chinese goods could help alleviate the high inflation
03/05/2022	US begins statutory process that could ultimately end up removing tariffs on Chinese goods
10/05/2022	Joe Biden says that discussions are ongoing about potentially dropping trade tariffs on China that were imposed by his predecessor
18/06/2022	Joe Biden said he’ll be talking to Xi Jinping 'soon' and is weighing possible action on US tariffs on Chinese goods that were imposed by the Trump administration
21/06/2022	Uygur Forced Labour Prevention Act takes effect
05/07/2022	China Vice-Premier Liu He holds a 'pragmatic and frank' exchange on issues of concern with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen
05/07/2022	More than 400 requests to keep tariffs in place on Chinese goods are submitted to the US Trade Representative’s office

SCMP

15/05/2019: US adds Huawei to ‘entity list’

US Department of Commerce announces the addition of Huawei Technologies Co. to its “entity list”, which effectively bans US companies from selling to the Chinese telecommunications company without approval.