The American Association of Port Authorities is asking appropriators to restore Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund spending to ports that have traditionally collected more harbor maintenance taxes than they have gotten in projects, and to return to a program of spending on emerging harbors, as laid out in the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2020. The letter also was signed by port directors around the country.

Now that the White House appears to have given more direction on its trade and tariff actions, more companies may transition from a wait-and-see approach to more specific courses of action, trade experts with KPMG said during a July 31 webinar on tariffs and trade complexities.

The National Foreign Trade Council responded to the U.S. hikes in tariffs Aug. 1 (see 2507310081) by saying that agreements to remove some trade barriers are encouraging but "a great deal of work remains to be done to make sure they deliver on those promises and to accelerate efforts to remove discriminatory measures that were not part of those initial understandings.

A July benchmarking survey from the U.S. Fashion Industry Association found that executives from 25 leading U.S. fashion companies have been diversifying their sourcing as part of a wider strategy to hedge against higher tariffs and U.S. trade policy uncertainties.

Five trade groups representing steel producers asked the president not to allow "special arrangements," such as the one promised to the U.K., to eliminate or reduce Section 232 tariff coverage.

The US-China Business Council released its annual member survey, which shows almost all U.S. companies operating in China are concerned about the impact of tariffs on their business. Tariffs jumped from the eighth-highest concern in last year's survey to number two in this year's, with the highest being U.S.-China relations.

Trade observers are waiting for more information about whether Aug. 1 tariffs on Canada and Mexico will include goods that currently qualify for duty-free treatment under USMCA, according to comments by Flexport officials during a July 16 webinar.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Chamber of Commerce in Brazil both are urging the Brazilian government and the U.S. government to negotiate so that 50% tariffs on Brazilian goods don't come to pass.

How the Trump administration chooses to define transshipment has the potential to redefine the current trading system with Southeast Asian countries, trade lawyers said. The recent trade deal framework with Vietnam contained a 40% tariff rate for "transshipped" goods, which is a different approach than previously employed for transshipment (see 2507080028).

The Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America publicized a letter they sent to the administration, pointing out that children's shoes already face high most favored nation duties, and asked officials not to stack a planned 20% tariff on those rates.