A proclamation issued by President Donald Trump April 2 creates a new "de minimis" exemption from Section 232 metals tariffs for some metal derivatives that contain less than 15% of Section 232 metal content by weight. The proclamation was issued alongside an executive order setting Section 232 tariffs on brand-name pharmaceuticals at 100%, though with exceptions for companies that onshore production.
The annual National Trade Estimate, which enumerates hundreds of tariff and non-tariff barriers to U.S. goods and services exports, asserted it would try to "quantitatively assess the potential effect of removing certain foreign trade barriers to particular U.S. exports," but the estimate largely steers clear of estimating the value of lost export sales.
A panel of trade experts offered a candid assessment of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), calling it a powerful engine of regional integration that's increasingly strained by unresolved disputes, tariff tensions and shifting geopolitical pressures as the pact approaches its first joint review.
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CBP said it expects the first phase of its automated refund system for International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariffs to cover about 63% of entries that paid or deposited the duties. That includes unliquidated entries and entries that will still be in the 90-day window when CBP is able to initiate reliquidation.
A former Bureau of Industry and Security official said the agency is likely to introduce new import restrictions against Chinese technologies, such as robotics, under its Information and Communications Technology and Services-related authorities.
The numerous conditions that the European Parliament put on a bill to lower EU tariffs on U.S. goods and to offer preferential access to some American agricultural products intrigued former trade negotiators, though they had conflicting opinions on how much the U.S. would adjust its approach as a result.
Informal guidance from CBP’s base metals Center of Excellence and Expertise on steel and aluminum valuation for Section 232 purposes is “advisory only and not binding,” a CBP spokesperson said.
Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., told an audience of libertarians that he argued in a closed-door meeting with other House Ways and Means Democrats that they should campaign on prices, and connect affordability to President Donald Trump's tariffs.
Court of International Trade Judge Richard Eaton on March 27 broadened his prior order requiring CBP to begin paying refunds of tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to include finally liquidated entries. The judge's initial order only covered non-finally liquidated entries but now states that "[a]ny liquidated entries for which liquidation is final shall be reliquidated without regard to the IEEPA duties."