A resolution that would eliminate the fentanyl smuggling and migration emergency for Canada, and thereby end 25% and 10% tariffs on Canadian goods, passed the Senate April 2, 51-48.
An executive order signed by President Donald Trump April 2 ends de minimis treatment for goods from China and Hong Kong starting May 2 at 12:01 a.m. EDT, according to a White House fact sheet.
The annex to the Section 232 auto tariff proclamation has been released, listing tariff subheadings subject to the 25% tariffs on passenger vehicles and light trucks beginning April 3, and setting the effective date for tariffs on auto parts at May 3 (and also listing the subheadings covered by those tariffs).
Higher reciprocal tariffs announced by President Donald Trump will be imposed at the following rates beginning April 9, according to handouts distributed at the White House event announcing the tariffs (all countries with only the 10% universal tariff are omitted from the table):
The U.S. will impose additional 10% tariffs on most imports, but not on Mexican and Canadian goods, information goods like books, music or films, or any goods either subject to Section 232 tariffs or among goods that Trump is considering protecting under Section 232, including pharmaceuticals, copper, lumber, paper, wooden furniture and cabinetry, semiconductors, certain critical minerals, and energy and energy products.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., called on the Senate to revoke what he called "the fake emergency" of drug smuggling and migration across the Canadian border, the pretext for imposing 25% tariffs on most Canadian goods and 10% tariffs on energy and potash fertilizer.
To date, no major lawsuits challenging any of the new tariff actions taken by President Donald Trump have been filed. The reasons for that include high legal hurdles to success and inconsistency in the implementation of the tariffs, trade lawyers told us.
Authorities in Beijing watching the Trump administration "sabotage itself" with tariffs on allies and redefinition of the international order are in no hurry to establish a U.S.-China trade deal, experts said at a March 31 event.
President Donald Trump, talking to reporters in the Oval Office, declined to say whether tariffs would be tailored to individual countries, or there would be a universal rate on all imports, saying that he'll let them know either Tuesday night, or probably April 2.