International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The U.S. Geological Survey is proposing to update its critical minerals list to include another six minerals.
A White House official, speaking on background, clarified that the investigation the president posted about last week on social media, which he said would lead to tariffs on furniture (see 2508220054), is not a new investigation that would cover an array of furniture made out of plastic, metal or wood. Rather, wooden furniture tariffs would fall under the Section 232 investigation on lumber that began at the beginning of March (see 2503030039).
CBP on Aug. 21 updated its Frequently Asked Questions on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to clarify how additional 25% tariffs on Brazilian goods and the 25% tariff on India for its Russian oil imports figure into unstacking provisions.
The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security seeks public comments by Sept. 9 in connection with its recently launched Section 232 investigation on the national security effects of imports of wind turbines and their parts and components, it said in a Federal Register notice. BIS is interested in such effects as the concentration of U.S. imports of wind turbines and their parts and components from a small number of suppliers or foreign nations and the associated risks; the potential for foreign control or exploitation of the wind turbine supply chain; and the ability of foreign persons to weaponize the capabilities or attributes of foreign-built wind turbines and their parts or components.
Lawyers with extensive experience in Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act detentions said that CBP processes have been changing, and that companies should stress test how quickly they can get documents about materials from their suppliers and suppliers' suppliers, and how quickly they can understand all they've been given and send the right documents to CBP.
The U.S. will lower tariffs on EU goods covered by the automotive Section 232 action from 25% plus the most favored nation rate to a flat 15% as soon as the European Parliament introduces legislation to eliminate its industrial tariffs. A joint statement issued by the two sides Aug. 21 said the "tariff reductions are expected to be effective from the first day of the same month in which the European Union’s legislative proposal is introduced."
EU Trade Minister Maros Sefcovic said that the EU "will need to translate key elements of the joint statement into legislative proposals," and that politicians have a "firm intention" to "present these legislative proposals and launch this process still this month."
Businesses should anticipate that even more derivative products could be added to the list of Section 232 tariffs for steel and aluminum (see 2508150063), Flexport senior trade advisory manager Anna Zajac said during an Aug. 20 company webinar on the tariffs.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that details in writing on the South Korean and Japanese trade deals will come in "kind of weeks."