The tariffs he imposed on China in his first term were continued by President Joe Biden, a Democrat who even expanded tariffs and restrictions on the world's second largest economy. Biden administration officials looked at removing Trump's tariffs in order to bring down inflationary pressures, only to find they were unlikely to help significantly.

U.S. trading partners are better equipped now to deal with President-elect Donald's tariff threats than they were during his first administration, according to experts.