Former U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, who served in that role in President Donald Trump's first term, told an audience at the Council on Foreign Relations that he thinks "there’s a reasonable chance the CIT would enjoin" tariffs levied under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA. Trump used IEEPA to levy 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico over fentanyl and migration, as well as 20% tariffs on China over fentanyl, and used it to levy 10% tariffs on countries other than those three, and an additional 125% tariffs on Chinese goods.
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President Donald Trump issued an executive order April 29 exempting all goods "subject to" International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariffs on Canada and Mexico from Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum.
Automakers who build cars in America and import parts to do so will get a partial credit against the costs of 25% Section 232 tariffs on non-USMCA qualifying parts -- but the Commerce Department will examine companies' projections of both how many cars and light trucks they expect to build in the U.S. between April 3, 2025, and April 30, 2026, and the aggregate value of the MSRP of those vehicles.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a TV interview that "an agreement in principle" can be reached with 17 trading partners to prevent "the tariffs there from ratcheting back to the maximum level."
The Pacific Legal Foundation, the libertarian legal advocacy group that recently brought a case against the legality of tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act on behalf of 11 importers, has had "preliminary" talks with the other advocacy groups that have brought cases challenging the tariffs on whether to proceed with separate cases. Molly Nixon, attorney at the foundation, told us she's "in touch" with the two other groups who have brought cases against the tariffs, the New Civil Liberties Alliance and the Liberty Justice Center, but that nothing is confirmed about whether the groups will combine cases.
Recent U.S. trade actions, such as the IEEPA tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico, the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum derivatives, and the temporarily paused reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries worldwide, could cause global container volumes to slump by 1% in 2025, according to U.K-based maritime shipping advisory firm Drewry.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to answer questions about why he told Wall Street investors that the U.S. is looking to de-escalate the trade war with China, and asked him to confirm if other executives heard information about progress toward a trade deal with India.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., asked Apple CEO Tim Cook about his private lobbying on tariffs on Chinese imports, and the fact that the carveout for the tariffs for electronics affected phones, computers and smart watches, which Apple makes, but not video game consoles.
In an interview with Time magazine, President Donald Trump said he delayed the country-by-country reciprocal tariff rates in early April not because the bond market was panicking, but because he needed time to come up with rates that they deserve.