This tracker summarises trade policy in US President Donald Trump’s second term by looking back at what’s happened since Trump took office and scanning the horizon for what’s next.
Trump began his second term on 20 January 2025 with a flurry of activity, with dozens of executive actions on day 1. His America First Trade Policy, which contemplates active use of tariffs, was among them.
Threatening Colombia with rapidly increasing blanket tariffs in late January led to announcing tariffs on Canada, China, and Mexico in early February.
Days later, the US agreed to a one-month delay of the Canada and Mexico tariffs, followed by announcements on expanded steel and aluminium tariffs and “reciprocal tariffs.”
The Canada and Mexico tariffs were delayed until 4 March 2025, and took effect as scheduled. They were then postponed for another month on 6 March 2025 for goods covered under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
The responses in the EU and Latin America have taken shape as well.
Trump announced details of the reciprocal tariffs on 2 April 2025. Those details entailed a "minimum baseline" rate of 10% to be applied from 5 April 2025 and country-specific rates to be applied from 9 April 2025.
Trump then announced a 90-day reprieve for most countries and an escalation with China on 9 April 2025.
Since then, trade tensions have remained high as Trump walked back the automobile and auto parts tariffs, unstacked several previously imposed measures, and boasted of impending trade deals.
The US and UK announced the first such agreement on 8 May 2025. Trump has said that the UK deal is the first of "[m]any other deals, which are in serious stages of negotiation." That includes talks with China, which yielded early results, as the world's two largest economies agreed to reduce their reciprocal and retaliatory measures whilst they negotiate a deal. And, on 11 June 2025, Trump announced a trade deal with China on social media, following talks between the two countries in London.
Whilst dealmaking was underway, judicial challenges progressed in several different federal courts. By the end of May, two courts had independently found the statutory basis for certain tariffs lacking. Those were promptly appealed and their enforcement temporarily stayed. The appeals court granted a stay pending appeal on 10 June 2025, meaning that the affected tariffs – the reciprocal tariffs and those related to opioid trafficking – remained in effect temporarily.
As the 90-day pause on country-specific tariffs neared its end in early July, Trump took several key actions. On 2 July 2025, he announced a trade deal with Vietnam. Five days later, on 7 July 2025, he released letters modifying the reciprocal tariff rates for several countries, with more letters expected before 1 August 2025 – the new effective date for country-specific reciprocal tariffs. Several trade deals, including with Japan and the EU, have been announced since.
The plot thickened further still on 30 July 2025 when Trump:
- suspended duty-free de minimis treatment for imports from all countries beginning on 29 August 2025; and
- announced a 50% tariff on copper beginning on 1 August 2025.
The following day, Trump announced on social media a 90-day extension for Mexico as the US Department of Justice was defending the trafficking and reciprocal tariffs in oral arguments before a federal appeals court. He then delayed the country-specific reciprocal tariffs until 7 August 2025 hours before they were set to take effect and increased the tariff rate on Canadian goods to 35% beginning 1 August 2025.
A federal appeals court affirmed on 29 August 2025 the central holding of a lower court ruling – that the reciprocal and trafficking tariffs were not authorised under the emergency powers Trump invoked – but remanded the case for further proceedings on whether injunctive relief is appropriate. Notably, however, the appeals court suspended its decision until 14 October 2025 to allow time for appeal to the US Supreme Court. And, on 9 September 2025, the US Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. The justices were sceptical of the Trump administration's claims during oral argument on 5 November 2025.
With uncertainty looming over the reciprocal and trafficking tariffs, on 25 September 2025, Trump announced tariffs on pharmaceutical products (100%), cabinets and upholstered furniture (50% and 30%, respectively), and heavy trucks (25%), with effect from 1 October 2025.
Trade tensions appeared to ease after the announcement in late October of a reduction in the trafficking tariffs on Chinese goods, the sale of US soybeans to China over the next three years, and a forthcoming trade deal between the two countries. Since then, several other trade deals have been announced and Trump has carved out reciprocal tariff exceptions for certain agricultural and food products.