Since returning to office in January 2025, President Donald Trump has moved quickly to reshape US policy and national priorities. The timeline below captures major milestones, executive decisions, and key developments driving his agenda.
Key dates
| November 12 | President Trump signed a government funding bill ending a record 43-day shutdown. |
| October 30 | President Trump met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea and announced a temporary trade truce. |
| October 29 | The US and South Korea said they agreed to terms of a trade deal. |
| October 26 | The Trump administration said it reached trade agreements with Cambodia and Malaysia and frameworks for trade agreements with Thailand and Vietnam. |
| October 25 | President Trump announced an additional 10% tariff on Canadian imports. |
| October 1 | The federal government shut down at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday morning after lawmakers failed to reach a deal to fund the government past Tuesday. |
| September 25 | President Trump announced new tariffs beginning October 1, including a 100% tariff on branded or patented pharmaceutical products unless a company is building their manufacturing plant in the US. The president also announced a 50% tariff on kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities and associated products, as well as a 25% tariff on all heavy trucks. These tariffs are also effective October 1. |
| August 11 | President Trump signed an executive order extending the deadline for higher tariffs on China by another 90 days. |
| July 27 | President Trump announced a trade agreement with the European Union, with a baseline 15% tariff rate on most European goods. The EU said European countries would buy $750 billion in energy products from the US and invest an additional $600 billion in the US. |
| July 23 | The White House unveiled its “AI Action Plan,” aimed at achieving US dominance in artificial intelligence. The plan aims to promote accelerated US AI growth by easing regulations and fast-tracking permits for data centers. |
| July 22 | President Trump announced a trade agreement with Japan, setting a baseline 15% tariff rate on Japanese imports, lower than the 25% tariff that was supposed to go into effect on August 1. In return, the president said that Japan would invest $550 billion in the US and would open its markets to more American cars, rice and other goods. |
| July 12 | President Trump announced new 30% tariffs on all goods from the EU and Mexico, effective August 1, via letters released on social media. |
| July 9 | The Trump administration on social media announced that eight additional letters were sent to countries detailing modified reciprocal tariffs including a letter to Brazil for a proposed 50% tariff. |
| July 7 | President Trump signed an executive order extending the July 9 deadline for reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries to August 1. |
| July 7 | The Trump administration also sent letters to 14 countries notifying them of updated tariff rates in the event a negotiated trade agreement is not reached. |
| July 4 | President Trump signed into law the “One Big Beautiful” tax bill following a week of negotiations with Senate and House Republicans. |
| June 16 | President Trump and United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer officially signed a bilateral trade agreement announced in May. |
| June 11 | Following two days of talks on June 9 and 10, the United States and China agreed to maintain reduced tariffs while committing to negotiate a broader trade framework over the next 60 days. The deal still requires approval from Presidents Trump and Xi Jinping. |
| June 9 | US and Chinese delegations met in London for talks aimed to ease escalating tensions over tariffs, technology restrictions and critical mineral supplies. |
| May 27 | The European Union agreed to fast-track trade talks with the US. |
| May 25 | President Trump agreed to delay imposing a 50% tariff on imports from Europe until July 9. Two days earlier, he threatened a June 1 start date for the tariffs, citing stalled talks. |
| May 22 | The House of Representatives voted 215-214 to pass the “One Big Beautiful” tax bill. |
| May 12 | The US and China agreed to a 90-day pause on most tariffs each country imposed on the other over the past month. |
| May 12 | House Republicans unveiled the full text of their tax bill. |
| May 8 | President Trump announced a trade agreement with the United Kingdom. |
| April 30 | US growth domestic product contracted in the first quarter of 2025, falling at a seasonally and inflation adjusted rate of 0.3%. It was the first contraction since the first quarter of 2022. |
| April 29 | President Trump’s 100th day in office. |
| April 29 | President Trump announced plans to ease some tariffs for automakers. |
| April 29 | China’s manufacturing activity fell to 49, below expectations and below the 50-level expansion threshold. |
| April 25 | In a news conference, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry said there have not been any tariffs negotiations with the US. |
| April 11 | China increased its retaliatory tariffs on the US to 125%. |
| April 9 | President Trump announced a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs for 75 non-retaliatory countries. A 10% across-the-board tariff will remain for those countries. |
| April 9 | The president also increased reciprocal tariffs on Chinese goods to 125%, effective immediately, following China’s announcement that it would raise its retaliatory tariffs on US imports to 84% from 34%. The new total rate of 145% took effect overnight. |
| April 7 | President Trump said he plans an additional 50% tariff on China beginning April 9 if it doesn’t withdraw its retaliatory tariff. |
Follow us
