The EU announced Aug. 28 that it had proposed a return to duty-free treatment for American lobster exports, and added processed lobster to that category, and to eliminate tariffs on American industrial goods and to provide preferential access for other U.S. seafood and what the EU called "non-sensitive agricultural goods."
CBP is ready to process the low-value packages that used to qualify for de minimis, officials said Aug. 28, hours before the change comes into effect.
Less than a week after European politicians said that the trade framework was establishing certainty for European businesses, President Donald Trump lobbed a bomb on social media, threatening "substantial additional tariffs" and export restrictions on chips.
Vice President JD Vance said that the U.S. is imposing secondary tariffs on India for buying Russian oil, and not China, because China already has high tariffs.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., are asking Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to ban seafood imported from China "and other rogue nations" due to their reliance on forced labor and unregulated fishing.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that Canada is dropping its retaliatory tariffs on American exports -- except for those in steel, aluminum and autos -- as long as those U.S. goods qualify for USMCA.
President Donald Trump said, "over the next two weeks, we're going to find out which way it's going to go," referring to efforts to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine. Trump, who was answering reporters' questions Aug. 22 in the Oval Office clarified that he'd make a decision on whether Russia needs to be punished for resisting a settlement, or whether he washes his hands of the effort.
Lawyers with extensive experience in Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act detentions said that CBP processes have been changing, and that companies should stress test how quickly they can get documents about materials from their suppliers and suppliers' suppliers, and how quickly they can understand all they've been given and send the right documents to CBP.
Crowell & Moring partner David Stepp, a trade expert in the Los Angeles office, said that he and other trade lawyers have been hearing rumors about how the Trump administration will define "transshipment" in its reciprocal trade agreements. He said the rumor is that details will be released "in coming days."
The U.S. will lower tariffs on EU goods covered by the automotive Section 232 action from 25% plus the most favored nation rate to a flat 15% as soon as the European Parliament introduces legislation to eliminate its industrial tariffs. A joint statement issued by the two sides Aug. 21 said the "tariff reductions are expected to be effective from the first day of the same month in which the European Union’s legislative proposal is introduced."