In a budget justification document, the Commerce Department refers to a Section 232 investigation that has not been publicly launched on power generation equipment, which it described in another place as "the power grid." The document also refers to the existing 232 investigation on wind turbines in another spot, which is one form of power generation equipment. Unnamed sources had told The Wall Street Journal in February that electrical grid equipment could be a target (see 2602240088).
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Mexican Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum discussed changes to USMCA on April 20.
Trade groups representing a wide swath of businesses accused the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative of using Section 301 to reverse-engineer the global tariffs that were struck down by the Supreme Court.
A former Trump National Economic Council trade expert, Kate Kalutkiewicz, said the changes to the Section 232 derivatives methodology "does reflect an acknowledgment by the administration that there was a lot of confusion by importers around how they were supposed to calculate the value of steel, aluminum or copper in a good and apply a tariff. Customs, I think, was also struggling to come up with formulas that made sense here."
When a Republican House member asked U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer how he "is working to provide greater clarity around tariff and trade policy so small businesses have the confidence they need to plan, and invest and expand," he replied that avoiding imports guarantees avoiding tariffs.
Forty-one senators, including 25 Republicans, asked the administration to work closely with Congress to ensure that the USMCA six-year review maintains "the certainty afforded by a stable Agreement" that agricultural producers depend on.
Trade groups representing the entire domestic auto industry said they don't want major changes to rules of origin in a USMCA rewrite, and said that imposing 25% tariffs on formerly duty-free Canadian and Mexican cars undermines the trade pact. The Commerce Department said more than a year ago that it would impose 25% tariffs on USMCA-compliant auto and truck parts, once it could identify how much of the value was not domestic, but has never implemented that part of the Section 232 action.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking to the head of the editorial board at The Wall Street Journal, said that tariffs could return to levels in place under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act by the beginning of July through the use of Section 301.
President Donald Trump, in a social media post, said that Chinese officials "have agreed not to send weapons to Iran. President Xi will give me a big, fat, hug when I get there in a few weeks. We are working together smartly, and very well! Doesn’t that beat fighting???"
CBP told the Court of International Trade judge overseeing the International Emergency Economic Powers Act refund process that from March 26 to April 9, the number of importers or their designated agents who have completed the paperwork to receive direct deposits climbed from just over 26,600 to just under 56,500.