Trump’s April Tariffs – Rundown, Implications And Freight Impact
In April 2025, the US government imposed tariffs on major global trading partners in the name of "reciprocal trade", with the highest tariff rate on China reaching 104%, causing global supply chain shocks. Data from the Port of Los Angeles showed that container throughput in the third week of April fell 18% year-on-year, and the prices of goods on the US site of the cross-border e-commerce platform Temu generally increased by 15%. This article combines the latest industry trends to analyze the underlying logic of this tariff storm from three dimensions: policy details, economic impact, and freight changes.
Content Menu
Bottom Line
Reciprocal Tariffs
Canada, Mexico and Automobiles
US Value Creation Exemption
Retaliation, Expulsion... and Uncertainty
Minimum
Economic Impact of Trump's Tariffs
Impact of Trump's Tariffs on Freight
Bottom Line
The Trump administration's "reciprocal tariff" policy officially took effect on April 9, with the core logic that "trading partners' tariff rates must be the same as those of the United States." According to the list released by the White House, Chinese goods exported to the United States were subject to a 34% tariff, which, combined with the previous 10% tariff, brought the actual total tariff to 44%. Economies such as the European Union, Japan, and South Korea also face additional tariffs of 20%-25%.
Data confirms: The Peterson Institute for International Economics in the United States estimates that if tariffs are maintained for a long time, global GDP will lose $1.2 trillion in 2025, and the US economic growth rate will drop by 1.5 percentage points.
Reciprocal tariffs
The so-called "reciprocal tariffs" are essentially the United States' unilateral request for its trading partners to adjust their tariff structure. For example, China's automobile tariff on the United States is 15%, while the United States' automobile tariff on China is as high as 27.5%. This "inequality" has become a reason for increasing taxes. However, in actual operations, the United States has not adjusted its own tariffs in a reciprocal manner, but has exerted pressure through a combination of "base rate + personalized tax increases".
Case: Vietnam was accused of "re-exporting Chinese goods" and was subject to a 46% tariff, resulting in a 12% month-on-month decrease in container throughput at Ho Chi Minh Port in April.
Canada, Mexico and automobiles
Under the framework of the North American Free Trade Agreement (USMCA), some goods from Canada and Mexico are exempt from tariffs, but the automobile industry has become the hardest hit area. The United States imposes a 25% tariff on imported cars, requiring that the "US content" of the whole vehicle be no less than 75%, otherwise it will be taxed according to the value of the non-US part.
Chain reaction:
Mexico's automobile exports: Exports to the United States in April fell 18% year-on-year, and car companies such as Renault and Nissan suspended the expansion of their Mexican factories.
Supply chain transfer: Tesla plans to transport Chinese parts to the United States via Canada, increasing logistics costs by 30%.
US value creation exemption
The United States provides tariff exemptions for imported goods that "create local value", for example:
Semiconductor equipment: If assembled in China but the core chip is produced in the United States, partial exemptions can be applied.
Medical equipment: CT machines produced by American companies in China can enjoy tariff reductions if 20% value-added services are added when they are resold to the United States.
Controversy: The policy was accused of "protecting local enterprises in disguise", and Germany's Siemens Healthineers has filed a complaint with the WTO.
Retaliation, expulsion... and uncertainty
Major trading partners such as China, the European Union, and Canada quickly retaliated:
China: 84% tariffs on US agricultural products and automobiles, resulting in a 40% drop in soybean imports in April.
The European Union: 25% tariffs on US whiskey and jeans, French cognac exporters lost more than 50 million euros.
Canada: 50% tariffs on US steel and aluminum products, Quebec steel plant capacity utilization rate dropped to 60%.
Uncertainty: The United States has implemented a 90-day tariff suspension on 35 countries, but has not clarified the follow-up policy, causing 70% of the world's shipping companies to postpone route adjustment plans.
Minimum
Although the United States claims that "tariffs protect jobs", the actual effect is counterproductive:
Manufacturing jobs: According to data from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, tariffs have led to the loss of 125,000 manufacturing jobs, mainly concentrated in the automotive and electronics industries.
Consumer costs: A survey of the Port of Los Angeles shows that tariffs have increased the average annual expenditure of American families by $1,500, and low-income groups are most affected.
The economic impact of Trump's tariffs
| Areas | Specific impact | Data support |
|---|---|---|
| Stock market | The three major US stock indexes fell 9.7% in April | Nasdaq data |
| Inflation | Core CPI rose 6.8% year-on-year | US Department of Labor data |
| Trade deficit | The trade deficit with China widened to US$38 billion in April | US Department of Commerce data |
Expert opinion: Former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned that tariffs may put the U.S. economy into a "stagflation trap."
The impact of Trump's tariffs on freight
① Route reconstruction
Trans-Pacific routes: The congestion index of ports in the western United States rose by 40%, and some cargo ships were diverted to the Port of Vancouver, Canada.
China-Europe Express: The number of trains in April increased by 22% year-on-year, and the freight rate of the Yiwu-Madrid line increased by 15%.
② Cost surge
Sea freight: The freight rate of a 40-foot container from Shanghai to Los Angeles rose from US$2,000 to US$3,500.
Air freight: The demand for electronic products to be shipped by air has surged, and the freight rate per kilogram from Beijing to New York has exceeded US$8.
③ Transformation of logistics model
Overseas warehouse: SHEIN has added 5 overseas warehouses in the eastern United States to achieve "same-day delivery" to avoid tariffs.
Nearshore production: Nike transferred 30% of its production capacity in Vietnam to Mexico, shortening logistics time by 40%.
Sum mary
Trump's tariff policy in April is like a boulder thrown into the global trade pool, which not only triggered a three-way struggle between China, the United States and Europe, but also forced the freight industry to accelerate changes. From the backlog of auto parts on the Mexican border to the diversion of cross-border e-commerce goods at Shanghai Port, this tariff storm is reshaping the underlying logic of the supply chain. For companies, they need to cope with cost pressure in the short term and build a "regional + localized" elastic network in the long term. As Maersk CEO Søren Stoudemire said: "Future freight competition will be a contest of supply chain resilience."
