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.
U.S. domestic lumber companies are delighted that President Donald Trump is considering imposing Section 232 tariffs on imports of lumber and its derivative products, but U.S. domestic manufactures expressed concern and foreign countries pleaded for exemptions in public comments to the Bureau of Industry and Security.
Five importers challenging the constitutionality of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act as a source of tariff-setting authority plan to file a motion for a preliminary injunction in the coming days, counsel for the companies told us. Jeffrey Schwab, senior counsel at the Liberty Justice Center, said the PI bid will request an injunction on the collection of all tariffs issued under the IEEPA.
President Donald Trump on April 15 ordered a Section 232 investigation that could result in the imposition of tariffs on processed critical minerals and their derivatives.
The conservative Liberty Justice Center brought a lawsuit on behalf of five importers to challenge the constitutionality of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act as a source of tariff-setting authority. The complaint, filed April 14 at the Court of International Trade, makes two claims: President Donald Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs exceed the president's statutory authority under IEEPA and, even if this statutory authority exists, it's an "unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority" (V.O.S. Selections v. Donald J. Trump, CIT # 25-00066).
The Commerce Department is launching Section 232 investigations on imports of semiconductors and pharmaceuticals as a possible precursor to levying duties on these products, according to Federal Register notices released April 14.
Given the prohibitively high tariff levels placed on China, and the uncertainty surrounding reciprocal tariffs on other countries, USMCA-qualifying goods from Canada and Mexico are advantageous options for importers, according to compliance experts speaking at an Automotive Industry Action Group event on April 9.
Tariff policy has been changing so rapidly that CBP hasn't been able to dot all the i's and cross the t's before entries are subject to the new rules, and that's putting brokers in limbo at times, the customs committee chair for the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America told an audience of brokers at NCBFAA's national conference this week.
The pause on higher country-specific reciprocal tariffs for all covered countries except China took effect just after midnight on April 10, CBP said in a CSMS message.
CHANDLER, Ariz. -- Should the de minimis exemption eventually disappear for low-value shipments, the business-to-business-to-consumer model could rise as a result, according to panelists at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America annual conference.