A bill has passed the House of Representatives that requires the Consumer Product Safety Commission to run a pilot program to see if artificial intelligence can advance its mission. It tasks the CPSC to see if AI can monitor internet websites, for the sale of recalled consumer products, and identify products that the CPSC has found should be refused admission to the U.S.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., co-sponsors of the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, which authorizes 500% tariffs on buyers of Russian energy products, praised President Donald Trump for his promise of 100% tariffs on products from countries buying Russian goods, if Russia doesn't stop its war in Ukraine.
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 Senate passed a bill that directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to develop a methodology to identify the country of origin of imported red snapper and some tuna species. The goal is for CBP to be able to confiscate illegally caught red snapper and tuna at the time of import.
House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Democrats jointly criticized what they called "ongoing trade chaos," and what they called secretive negotiations between the U.S. and countries under threat.
The House of Representatives passed a tax bill, 218-214, that includes language that will end de minimis eligibility for all e-commerce, beginning July 1, 2027. The bill, which also extends individual and pass-through business tax breaks passed during the first Trump administration, now heads to the president's desk.
Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Pa., and four other House Democrats wrote to the president with questions about possible tariff rate quotas for Mexican steel, after reading reports that the U.S. might agree to drop 50% tariffs on Mexican steel in a TRQ arrangement.
Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., introduced a bill June 26 that would reauthorize the Federal Maritime Commission from FY 2026 to FY 2029 and give the agency several new tools to protect ocean shipping.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., introduced the Drones for America Act, which would impose tariffs on Chinese drones and drone parts that escalate until drones with Chinese components are banned in 2028.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., and 25 other House Democrats asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to tell them by July 10 whether the administration is going to carve out baby products from tariffs on Chinese goods. In a letter publicized June 26, the members noted that Bessent said exempting baby products was under consideration on May 7, and that the president also said he would "take a look at it" in response to questions that day.