President Donald Trump said on social media early May 9, "80% Tariff on China seems right! Up to Scott B." He was referring to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who will meet with China's vice premier in Switzerland on Saturday and Sunday to talk trade.
The Commerce Department is beginning a Section 232 investigation into possible tariffs on commercial aircraft and jet engines, including parts, it said in a notice released May 9. The agency will consider “the effects on national security of imports of commercial aircraft and jet engines, and parts for commercial aircraft and jet engines,” as well as “whether additional measures, including tariffs or quotas, are necessary to protect national security,” among other things. Comments are due June 3.
The 10% tariff on the first 100,000 autos exported annually from the U.K. will be "all-in," according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. CBP couldn't clarify whether that would be done by removing most favored nation duties on U.K. autos and then applying a 10% tariff rate, or whether the additional tariff rate for in-quota autos would be 7.5%.
The European Commission opened a public consultation regarding a list of U.S. imports that could become subject to tariffs in response to the flurry of U.S. trade action, should talks with the White House fall through, the commission announced. The list covers over $107 billion worth of U.S. imports, including a "broad range of industrial and agricultural products," it said.
After President Donald Trump spoke May 8 about a trade deal with the U.K., he took questions from reporters, and one asked whether the U.S. will lower tariffs on China if talks involving Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and China's vice premier go well over the weekend.
CBP cannot unilaterally decide to reliquidate entries that were erroneously liquidated while subject to a suspension order from the Court of International Trade, the trade court held on May 8. Judge Gary Katzmann said an "enjoined party is not empowered to choose and implement the remedy for its own violations of an injunction," writing that that power is the court's alone.
An exemption from reciprocal tariffs for goods subject to Section 232 tariffs only applies if duties are “owed and payable,” CBP said in an update May 8 to its Section 232 tariff FAQ.
The chaotic situation that importers and customs brokers have been facing as tariff policy swings wildly from one extreme to the next is partially due to the fact that CBP is unable to influence policy in the Trump administration, Pete Mento, director of customs and international trade at DSV, said on May 8. Decisions about tariffs are made without expert insight into how their actual implementation will affect the broader trade community, he said.
President Donald Trump said at a press conference May 8 that Rolls-Royce engines and other British aerospace exports will enter duty-free, but the 10% tariffs on British goods will remain in place on all other goods under a tariff deal with the U.K.
A U.S.-U.K. trade deal announced in the Oval Office leaves the average tariff on U.K. goods at 10%; however, aerospace engines and parts will enter duty-free.