Have Trumps tariffs worked? This is where things stand a year after Liberation Day

President Trump ordered double-digit tariffs on nearly everything the U.S. imports on April 2 last year. This is where things now stand a year later. Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

A year ago, President Trump ordered double-digit tariffs on virtually everything the U.S. imports. In a ceremony at the White House, he promised that jobs and factories would come “roaring back” to the country as a result, that consumer prices would fall and that April 2 would go down in history as “the day we began to make America wealthy again.”

One year later, many of Trump’s import taxes have been struck down by the Supreme Court. But the president remains committed to tariffs.

Customs officials are working on a plan to refund about $166 billion in tariffs that were wrongly collected, and they hope to have the details worked out by mid-April.

Taxing imports was supposed to give a boost to U.S. manufacturers. Trump’s promise to “supercharge our domestic industrial base” hasn’t materialized, as manufacturing has been in a slump and job losses have been reported.

Inflation remains elevated, partly due to tariffs, with prices still climbing faster than desired by the Federal Reserve. Economists warn that inflation could worsen after the U.S. and Israel began a war against Iran, leading to higher global energy prices.

Imports have slightly increased, contributing to a rise in the total goods trade deficit. The average tariff rate has decreased from its peak but is still higher than before Trump’s tariffs began. The volatility of tariffs has impacted businesses, leading to uncertainty, sluggish job gains, and economic growth slowdown.

Overall, one year after the implementation of Trump’s tariffs, the effects are still evident across various economic sectors, with ongoing challenges and uncertainties remaining.