India will be removed from the Generalized System of Preferences on June 5, because President Donald Trump "determined that India has not assured the United States that India will provide equitable and reasonable access to its markets." The announcement came just after 8 p.m. on May 31. The end of GSP eligibility and removal of India's developing country status also means India will be subject to safeguard duties on solar cells and washing machines as of June 5.
Chinese imports subject to the third tranche of Section 301 tariffs that were on the water as of May 10 will stay at the 10 percent tariff rate through June 15. Originally, the tariffs were set to rise to 25 percent for entries on or after June 1. There will be a notice in the Federal Register next week, USTR said after hours May 31. "This limited extension will further account for customs enforcement factors and the transit time between China and the United States by sea," the press release said.
A five percent tariff will be imposed on “all goods coming into our Country from Mexico” beginning June 10, and will remain in place “until such time as illegal migrants coming through Mexico, and into our Country, STOP,” President Donald Trump said May 30 on Twitter. The tariff will “gradually increase until the Illegal Immigration problem is remedied,” he said. “Details from the White House to follow.”
The Commerce Department will set a retroactive antidumping duty cash deposit rate of 1,731.75 percent on some imports of Chinese mattresses, according to a pre-publication version of a preliminary determination issued May 29. The unusually high rate will apply to mattresses imported from the “China-wide entity,” i.e., all Chinese companies that didn’t certify they are independent of Chinese government control or producer-exporter combinations that weren't assigned an individual rate. The rate will also be retroactive to 90 days prior to the eventual publication date of Commerce’s notice. Commerce set rates ranging from 38.56% to 84.64% for other Chinese companies, with some of those duties retroactive as well, it said in a fact sheet .
The 25 percent Section 232 tariffs on Canadian steel and the 10 percent tariffs on aluminum will be removed within 48 hours, Canada and the U.S. said May 17. When the metals tariffs are removed, Canada will also roll back its retaliatory tariffs, which hit American metals and agriculture, as well as some prepared food. The joint statement said stricter customs enforcement to prevent transshipment will be coordinated between Canada and the U.S.
President Donald Trump said May 17 said the U.S. has also reached an agreement with Mexico to drop U.S. Section 232 tariffs. The Mexican government issued a statement that said it would be lifting all its retaliatory tariffs in response. Mexico had targeted U.S. pork, dairy and metals. Mexican President Andres Lopez Obrador noted in the statement that this agreement will allow the countries to move forward with ratifying the new NAFTA, which is known in that country as the Treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada, or T-MEC, for the Spanish acronym. The Mexican statement did not say how quickly the tariffs and retaliatory tariffs would be lifted. A joint statement from Canada and the U.S. said tariffs would end under a similar agreement within 48 hours.
Turkish exports are no longer eligible for the Generalized System of Preferences, and Turkish solar cells and residential washers are also now subject to safeguard tariffs. The changes took effect May 17.
President Donald Trump issued a proclamation saying that he may take action under Section 232 to restrict auto and auto part imports if negotiations with the European Union and Japan don't make way for higher sales for American carmakers.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has published a list of "essentially all products not currently covered" by Section 301 tariffs, with the exception of pharmaceuticals, certain chemicals made into prescription drugs, rare earth minerals and critical minerals. The office is seeking public comment on hiking tariffs on these goods, which represented approximately $300 billion in imports last year.
Importers with goods exported to the U.S. prior to May 10 will be able to avoid the increased Section 301 duties on goods from China as long as the merchandise is entered before June 1, CBP said in an updated CSMS message. "Such products remain subject to the additional duty of 10 percent for a transitional period of time before June 1, 2019," said the U.S. Trade Representative in a notice. "The covered products of China that are entered into the United States on or after June 1, 2019, are subject to the 25 percent rate of additional duty.