President Donald Trump seemed to say April 17 he doesn’t intend to raise tariffs on China further, and that he might actually be looking to lower them.
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.
Forty-seven senators and representatives, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., expressed concern April 16 that the Trump administration’s reciprocal tariff policies negotiations could become a spoils system.
Air cargo transportation is likely eligible for reciprocal tariff exemptions for goods in transit as of April 5 or 9, according to two trade lawyers with law firm Grunfeld Desiderio, echoing similar comments from a DHL official the previous day who said the exemption applies to both air and truck modes (see 2504160027).
The state of California opened a lawsuit in the District Court for the Northern District of California on April 16 against President Donald Trump's ability to use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs. The two-count complaint claims that Trump acted beyond his statutory authority granted by IEEPA to impose the "reciprocal" tariffs and the tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico, and that Trump's tariff actions usurp legislative authority in violation of the U.S. Constitution (State of California v. Donald J. Trump, N.D. Cal. # 3:25-03372).
An exemption for goods in transit from the reciprocal tariffs that recently took effect applies not only to ocean vessels, but to air and truck shipments as well, according to Jeff McCauley, senior director of operations and compliance at DHL Global Forwarding.
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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.