In less than a week, President Donald Trump’s tariffs have already created economic chaos in the US and abroad.

On Wednesday, he announced a minimum 10 percent tariff on almost all imports, with dozens of countries facing far higher rates.

The S&P 500 has plunged almost 10 percent in response as of Monday, hitting nearly two-thirds of Americans who hold stock especially hard.

Some countries, including China, have issued retaliatory measures. Other US trading partners, including Japan, are seeking to negotiate with the Trump administration.

But if the tariffs stay in place, US consumers are expected to soon pay more for everything from cars to sneakers to groceries as a result.

Industries from car manufacturing to pharmaceuticals have been scrambling to respond. A producer of the Chrysler Pacifica minivan and Dodge’s electric Charger Daytona has already temporarily closed one of its factories in Canada, just across the border from Detroit. Whirlpool also announced layoffs Thursday of more than 650 American workers in Iowa, citing economic conditions in the US.

Amid the economic uncertainty created by the tariffs, what is clear is that a global trade war may be just beginning. Here are some of your key questions about the tariffs, answered.

What happened the last time the US imposed tariffs on this scale?

The last time the US imposed tariffs similar to those issued by Trump was at the outset of the Great Depression.

The Smoot-Hawley tariffs were passed in 1930 against the advice of many economists. They raised the average tariff by 20 percent. The goal was to protect American........

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