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On March 1, 2018, Trump announced his intention to impose a 25% tariff on steel and a 10% tariff on aluminum imports from all foreign sources including China, Europe, Australia and Canada, etc. In a tweet the next day, Trump asserted, "Trade wars are good, and easy to win."

Although the American steel-producing and aluminum-producing industries did benefit, a study of the tariff's effects indicated that it led to the approximate loss of 146,000 US jobs as predicted by respected economists. Source: Timmons, Heather (March 5, 2018). "Five US jobs will be lost for every new one created by Trump's steel tariffs". Quartz (publication).

A March 2018 Quinnipiac University poll showed widespread disapproval of the tariffs, with only 29% of Americans agreeing with a "25% tariff on steel imports and a 10% tariff on aluminum imports" because it raised their cost of living. Source: "U.S. Voters Oppose Steel, Aluminum Tariffs". Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. March 7, 2018.

On March 22, 2018, Trump signed a memorandum under the Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, instructing the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to apply tariffs of $50 billion on Chinese goods. Trump said the tariffs would be imposed due to Chinese theft of U.S. intellectual property. Trump said his planned tariffs on Chinese imports would make the United States "a much stronger, much richer nation". However, the steps toward imposing the tariffs led to increased concerns of a global trade war. Corporations that traded with China, such as Caterpillar Inc. and Boeing, suffered large losses in their stock price. Source: "Stocks dive as sanctions on China fuel trade-war fears; Dow drops 700-plus points". Los Angeles Times. March 22, 2018.

On May 9, 2018, China retaliated by canceling soybean orders exported from United States to China badly harming US farmers. Zhang Xiaoping, Chinese director for the U.S. Soybean Export Council, said Chinese buyers simply stopped buying from the U.S. Source: "Facing threat of tariffs, China buyers cancel orders for U.S. soybeans". PBS NewsHour. Archived from the original on May 25, 2019.

On June 13, 2019, 661 American companies sent a letter to Trump urging him to resolve the trade dispute with China. The letter was one of many sent on behalf of Tariffs Hurt the Heartland, an organization of over 150 trade groups representing agriculture, manufacturing, retailing and technology companies. Sources:
1) "Over 600 U.S. companies urge Trump to resolve trade dispute with ..." Reuters. June 13, 2019
2) "On behalf of the undersigned companies…" (PDF). tariffshurt.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 30, 2019.

The European Union retaliated on June 22, 2018, imposing tariffs on 180 types of US products, in total worth over $3 billion of U.S. goods. Affected products included steel and aluminum, agricultural goods (including orange juice and cranberry juice), clothing, washing machines, cosmetics, and boats. Source: Emre Peker, European Union Launches WTO Challenge to U.S. Tariffs Archived July 1, 2018, at the Wayback Machine, Wall Street Journal (June 1, 2018).

One of the many U.S. manufacturers badly affected by the EU's retaliatory tariffs was Harley-Davidson, which announced that it would move some of their manufacturing out of the United States. Source: Rappeport, Alan (June 25, 2018). "Harley-Davidson, Blaming E.U. Tariffs, Will Move Some Production Out of U.S." The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 13, 2019.

Another is the James E. Pepper whiskey distillery in Kentucky, which, due to raised prices, lost most of its foreign business. As of June, 2021, the business had not recovered. Source: Lobosco, Katie (June 12, 2021). "How Trump's tariffs haunt Kentucky's whiskey distillers: 'We're still on death row'". CNN. Retrieved June 13, 2021.