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.

Even Flexport's advisors are stumped over how exactly to declare a value for the aluminum or steel content for affected derivative products (see 2503140059), based on comments made during a webinar hosted by the company March 18.

CBP modified a withhold release order on Dominican Republic sugar company Central Romana, allowing it to import into the U.S.

Associations' views diverged widely on the wisdom of codifying a modified Type 86 process and tweaking the clear-from-the-manifest process for de minimis entries. Groups also disagreed on CBP's proposals for what new data should be submitted. The agency received 95 comments on its proposal, though dozens were from individuals and didn't make substantive suggestions. Some associations and companies addressed both this proposed rule and the one that would carve out sections 301 and 232 goods from de minimis. The comment period for that rule closes March 24.

When the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative asked for comments on policies that reduce U.S. exports, most agricultural trade associations -- and a few companies -- laid out their concerns about tariffs or sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) barriers that prevent their exports from reaching their potential.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent offered some clarity on the promised April 2 tariffs but, when pressed, didn't elaborate on vital details. He said that reciprocal tariffs would take the form of a number that the Trump administration "believe[s] represents their tariffs," but said he wasn't sure if tariffs would layer on top of Section 232 tariffs.

Among more than 700 submissions to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative -- as the administration seeks to quantify the cost to American exporters and producers of trade barriers and unfair subsidies -- were just over a dozen from trade groups representing foreign companies, American chambers of commerce specific to foreign markets, and foreign governments.

A State Department notice declaring that all agency efforts to control international trade now constitute a "foreign affairs function" of the U.S. under the Administrative Procedure Act will ultimately be subject to the discretion of the courts, trade lawyers told us.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick asked a top executive at Norsk Hydro a few weeks ago when the company would open a primary aluminum smelter.

Customs brokers and importers are still grappling with how to comply with the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum derivatives that went into effect just after midnight on March 12 (see 2503120054).