The scope of the products covered by 100% U.S. tariffs on "patented and branded medicines" is unclear, though both the EU and Japan will only be hit with 15% tariffs, a White House official told several news outlets.
After China fought the U.S. to a draw, by throttling exports of rare earth magnets so that the U.S. dropped tariff levels and some export controls, former government officials, researchers and a businessman talked about what might come next.
President Donald Trump said he and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would talk about changing Turkey's tariff treatment in their meeting Sept. 25, but after the two-hour meeting ended, there was no announcement on adjusting the scope of Turkey's 15% reciprocal tariffs, or Section 232 tariffs on steel.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., released a letter she sent Sept. 24 to Rolex CEO Jean-Frederic Dufour, asking him whether he used Rolex's luxury box at the U.S. Open Tennis Championship as a venue to lobby President Donald Trump and his staff about exempting luxury watches from 39% reciprocal tariffs on Swiss exports.
The Commerce Department launched an investigation on Sept. 2 on the import of industrial machinery and robotics, and whether domestic producers should be protected in order to improve U.S. national security.
The Commerce Department revealed it started an investigation three weeks ago on the import of and supply chains for personal protective equipment, medical consumables, medical equipment and medical devices.
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., introduced a bill last week to direct the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to prioritize convincing Canada and Mexico to institute a foreign investment review board similar to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS.
Three Democrats and Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., introduced a bill to end tariffs on imported coffee, and return them to the duty-free status they had before the administration imposed 10% tariffs on Colombia, 50% tariffs on Brazil, and 20% tariffs on Vietnam.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, at the Council on Foreign Relations, emphasized that Canada is aware that its proximity to the U.S. is no longer so enviable, since U.S. economic strategy "has clearly changed, from the support for the multilateral system to a more transactional and managed bilateral trade and investment approach."
The House of Representatives voted 217-212 to extend current levels of federal spending through Nov. 21, but the Senate was not able to find the 60 votes needed to approve the same approach.