Tariffs on steel, chips and semiconductors will come into effect by next week or the week after, President Donald Trump said on Aug. 15.
Some companies and associations in the solar industry endorsed additional tariffs on Chinese polysilicon, but others expressed concern that allied countries will be hit with overlapping Section 232 tariffs on both imports of polysilicon and solar cells, in public comments to the Bureau of Industry and Security.
Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum derivatives, currently set at 50%, will cover 407 additional Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheadings beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Aug. 18, the Commerce Department said in a notice released late on Aug. 15. The notice includes no exception for goods in transit as of the effective date.
The Commerce Department will add 407 Harmonized Tariff Schedule codes to the lists of steel and aluminum derivatives subject to Section 232 tariffs, the agency said in a notice released late Aug. 15. Tariffs on the new additions take effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on Aug. 18, 2025.
The Coalition for Prosperous America is proposing that a Section 232 investigation on polysilicon result in a tariff-rate quota that is limited to "in-quota trusted suppliers" such as South Korea or Germany, and that excludes Chinese products. A "$0.10 per watt tariff" should apply to over-quota imports of solar cells, with a quota volume "tied to U.S. production capacity" and overseen by the Department of Energy, it said in public comments.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Aug. 4-10:
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will likely rule against the Trump administration in the lead case on the legality of tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, though it's unclear under what exact rationale the court will do so, said Peter Harrell, a former National Security Council official during the Biden administration.
The threat of the Trump administration's tariff policy looms over the upcoming USMCA review, causing former officials involved in the initial negotiations to warn that the review may turn into a non-stop renegotiation complicated by tariff discussions.
A 40% tariff on transshipped goods could apply to goods that include third-country content above 30%, according to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, speaking on Fox Business Aug. 7.
On Aug. 27, Indian goods that are currently subject to reciprocal tariffs will be tariffed at an additional 25%, on top of the 25% reciprocal tariff set to take effect Aug. 7, the White House announced.