Comments from President Donald Trump and from a private talk by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on April 22 gave importers hope that the triple-digit tariffs on Chinese imports will drop soon. But Bessent, speaking to Bloomberg after a speech on April 23 at the Institute of International Finance, said there is no plan for the U.S. to drop its tariffs unilaterally, and that there is no timeline for engagement with China.
Twelve U.S. states led by Oregon filed a lawsuit April 23 against all of President Donald Trump's tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The states' complaint argues that Trump exceeded his authority as established in IEEPA, since the "annual U.S. goods trade deficits" are not an "unusual and extraordinary threat." The states also argue that neither the reciprocal tariffs, nor the tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico imposed to address drug trafficking, establish a sufficient nexus to the claimed emergencies (The State of Oregon v. Donald J. Trump, CIT # 25-00077).
A Section 232 investigation on the national security threat posed by the import of medium- and heavy-duty trucks and their parts will collect comments for three weeks, through May 16.
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President Donald Trump thinks that by applying a 25% tariff to auto part imports, domestic parts companies will thrive. But 77% of the nearly 1,000 auto supplier companies that belong to MEMA are pessimistic about the next year for their businesses -- and 55% said that government trade policy is the No. 1 threat to financial health.
The Court of International Trade cannot order the reliquidation of finally liquidated entries except where a protest has been filed or a civil action has been filed challenging an antidumping duty or countervailing duty determination, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held on April 21. Judges Richard Taranto and Raymond Chen held that the statute, 19 U.S.C. 1514, doesn't let the trade court order reliquidation based on equitable considerations.
Customs brokers are still wishing for guidance from CBP on the in-transit exemptions mentioned in the April 2 executive order on reciprocal tariffs, according to remarks made during the April 17 bi-weekly ACE support call hosted by CBP.
Effective April 21, transportation and logistics firm DHL expects to temporarily suspend the collection and shipping of business-to-consumer shipments to private individuals in the U.S. where the declared customs value exceeds $800, according to an online notice.
The three judges assigned to the case challenging President Donald Trump's use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act -- Jane Restani, Gary Katzmann and Timothy Reif -- may be poised to rein in the administration's use of the act to impose tariffs, various attorneys told us. Based on their prior jurisprudence and professional backgrounds, the attorneys said, it seems likely the trio may pare back Trump's tariff-setting authority, though it's ultimately unclear to what extent.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is planning a phased-in approach to assessing fees on foreign-built vessels calling at U.S. ports, according to an April 17 announcement unveiling the results of its year-long Section 301 investigation.