President Donald Trump shared on social media April 8 that he'd just talked to South Korea's acting president on the phone, and they had discussed not just trade and possible purchases that would lower Korea's trade surplus, but also payment for U.S. military bases in their country.

The $1.5 million and $1 million docking fees proposed under the Section 301 shipbuilding case (see 2502240006) are "just those -- they're proposed actions," U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., during an appearance in front of the Senate Finance Committee April 8.

After a resolution to roll back the tariffs on Canada passed the Senate, Senate Democrats and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., are pushing for a similar vote to end reciprocal tariffs and a global 10% tariff, as are 26 Democrats in the House.

Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee mostly stood by President Donald Trump's dramatic tariff moves, though many emphasized that the result should be lower non-tariff barriers for U.S. agricultural exports, not a permanent tariff wall around the U.S. economy.

An exemption from reciprocal tariffs for goods in transit on the tariffs’ effective dates of April 5 and April 9 will only apply to goods entered before May 27, CBP said in a CSMS message providing additional guidance on the tariffs.

CHANDLER, Ariz. -- A litany of new tariffs is creating a number of issues that brokers need to be aware of as they interact with their importer clients, including bond insufficiency and a potential increase in CBP requests for information, according to speakers on an April 8 panel at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America’s annual conference.

President Donald Trump declared that if China doesn't withdraw its 34% retaliatory tariff hike, "above their already long term trading abuses by tomorrow, April 8th, 2025, the United States will impose ADDITIONAL Tariffs on China of 50%, effective April 9th. Additionally, all talks with China concerning their requested meetings with us will be terminated! Negotiations with other countries, which have also requested meetings, will begin taking place immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"

President Donald Trump, from his home in South Florida, posted on social media throughout the day about the global and economic reactions to the tariffs. After the strong job growth numbers from March were released, he wrote, "GREAT JOB NUMBERS, FAR BETTER THAN EXPECTED. IT’S ALREADY WORKING. HANG TOUGH, WE CAN’T LOSE!!!"

China retaliated against President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs with duties of 34% on all U.S. goods, along with new export restrictions on U.S. companies and rare earth metals.

Republicans are not exactly turning against the dramatic tariff actions President Donald Trump is taking, but some are expressing hope that the reciprocal tariffs will be temporary cudgels to liberalize trade, and Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, acknowledged that the free trade advocates in the Republican Party may not be right about that being where this is heading.