Law firms are advising clients of changes to Mexican customs laws that begin Jan. 1, including that customs brokers will be liable if their clients provide false or inaccurate information.
Manufacturing trade groups and companies mostly argued in comments to the U.S. Trade Representative that USMCA rules of origin for their sectors shouldn't change as part of the pact's review, and if they do, it should be only after extensive consultation with industry, and with adequate transition times.
Former trade negotiators said the removal of reciprocal tariffs on agricultural goods not grown at scale in the U.S. is a harbinger of things to come, as the administration starts to recognize that tariffs are politically unpopular.
The Coalition for a Prosperous America reacted with alarm to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's offer that the U.S. could soften its tariffs on European steel and aluminum if the EU changes its approach to regulating American tech giants.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, speaking after a 90-minute meeting with EU and member country counterparts, explicitly linked changes in digital regulation in the EU to relief on 50% tariffs on steel, aluminum and their derivatives, where the value of the metal is taxed.
Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., continues to emphasize the importance of a long-term preference program for both sub-Saharan Africa and Haiti, but, in responses to questions for the record, deputy U.S. trade representative nominee Jeffrey Goettman said the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative supports a one-year renewal for both.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order Nov. 20 exempting 238 tariff schedule subheadings covering agricultural products from the 40% additional International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariff on Brazil. The new exemptions take retroactive effect Nov. 13 at 12:01 a.m ET.
The Congressional Budget Office updated its estimate of how much tariffs would reduce the federal deficit, if they stayed in place for 10 years, now saying they would reduce it by $2.5 trillion rather than $3.3 trillion (not counting saved interest costs).
Democrats on the House Small Business Committee said tariffs are leading to a decline in the manufacturing sector, with mixed reactions from the witnesses at a "How Main Street is Revitalizing Manufacturing" hearing.
A think tank says a surgical modernization of CAFTA-DR is the best approach for the future of the free trade agreement, though allowing Central American countries or the Dominican Republic to join USMCA is another option.