Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that wrapping up remaining trade deals by October is "aspirational" in part because India has been "recalcitrant" during trade negotiations.
The threat of the Trump administration's tariff policy looms over the upcoming USMCA review, causing former officials involved in the initial negotiations to warn that the review may turn into a non-stop renegotiation complicated by tariff discussions.
The American Apparel and Footwear Association thanked the Trump administration's suspension of higher tariff rates on China, but said the measure only keeps American companies and consumers "stuck in the same holding pattern" since President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs were announced.
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.