Multiple countries said they're still assessing the impact of the new U.S. tariffs that took effect Aug. 1 (see 2507310081), although some that agreed to deals, including the EU and South Korea, said they now have more stability for their industries.
The Commerce Department soon will suspend liquidation and impose countervailing duty cash deposit requirements on imports of chassis from Mexico and Thailand, it said in a fact sheet issued July 29. Commerce will set CVD rates at 133.18% for Mexican exporters and ranging from 2.24% to 9.42% for Thai exporters, the agency said as it announced its preliminary determinations in its ongoing CVD investigation. Suspension of liquidation and cash deposit requirements will take effect for entries on or after the date of publication of the preliminary determinations in the Federal Register, which should occur in the coming days. Commerce is conducting concurrent antidumping duty investigations on the same product from Mexico, Thailand and Vietnam, with a preliminary determination expected by Sept. 24.
There may be a "bifurcated" process for duty refund should the plaintiffs prevail in litigation over the legality of tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a trade lawyer said. That could include a court-ordered process in addition to a separate administrative process because of the volume of claims that will arise should the courts decide that IEEPA is not an appropriate authority for tariffs.
U.S. retailers will move their supply chains out of Africa and into Asia should Congress not renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act or change the third-country fabric provision for the region, according to trade groups representing domestic U.S. apparel retailers.
The Commerce Department is imposing preliminary antidumping duties of 93.5% on certain imports of Chinese graphite, a key material used in electric vehicle batteries.
Witnesses at a July 15 House hearing called for tariff measures to reduce Chinese dominance of critical mineral supply chains, with former Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., saying that tariffs on China were necessary to "protect strategic industries by penalizing bad actors and keeping the U.S. prices competitive."
The trade negotiation letters that have been coming out of the White House could chill potential dealmaking as countries see the lack of benefit in negotiating with President Donald Trump, according to former senior U.S. trade negotiators speaking during a panel discussion. Unimpressed by the pace and scope of current dealmaking, they argued that the breadth of areas that Trump wants to address with tariff solutions may weaken his ability to get what he wants.
Vietnam and the Philippines are the Southeast Asian countries closest to a trade deal with the U.S., said a former assistant U.S. trade representative on a webinar hosted by the Asia Program of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace on June 17.
A report on forced labor in critical mineral supply chains identified "major entities" operating in the Xinjiang province of China and documented evidence of their involvement in labor transfer programs of Uyghurs from the region. The report also highlighted the risk that products made by those entities have entered the global market over the previous two years.
The International Trade Commission has ended another Section 337 investigation on imports from Ericsson (ITC Inv. No. 337-TA-1388), it said in a June 11 notice. Complainant Motorola initially alleged in 2024 that Ericsson was importing cellular base station equipment that infringes on patents held by Motorola (see 2401240041).