President Donald Trump issued an executive order Sept. 5 adding and removing goods from the “Annex II” list of goods exempt from reciprocal tariffs. The changes take effect at 12:01 a.m. ET Sept. 8.
House Ways and Means Committee members met with Mexico's Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard about the upcoming sunset review of USMCA, and two Republicans on the committee said most of the conversation was about how useful the free trade agreement is.
The U.S. on Sept. 3 asked the Supreme Court to review the lead case on the legality of tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, concurrently moving the court for expedited consideration of its petition for writ of certiorari. Should the petition be granted, Solicitor General D. John Sauer asked that the court expedite the briefing schedule as well, which would conclude with oral argument held the first week of November (Donald J. Trump v. V.O.S. Selections, U.S. 25-250).
Japanese goods with most favored nation (MFN) duties of 15% or lower will be subject to a 15% reciprocal tariff, all inclusive, retroactive to 12:01 ET Aug. 7, the White House said in an executive order. The order applies the same 15% rule for goods subject to Section 232 tariffs on autos and auto parts upon publication of a Federal Register notice modifying the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. That notice will come within seven days of the executive order being published.
Democrats in the Senate are arguing that it's time to pass a bipartisan bill that would authorize up to 500% tariffs on goods from countries that buy Russian oil and gas and aren't providing aid to Ukraine to defend itself.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said agricultural interests need to lobby the Trump administration about tariffs on imported fertilizers, given how high input costs have risen as prices for row crops have fallen.
President Donald Trump touted the secondary tariffs on India, the second-largest purchaser of Russian oil, as action to show his frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin's continued aggression, when asked by a Polish reporter why he hadn't taken action against Russia to stop the war.
The EU Parliament is debating a proposal to lower its own tariffs, operating as though the U.S. is upholding its end of the U.S.-EU agreement, despite apparent U.S. failure to enact promised tariff reductions on EU goods. On Sept 1, the EU Parliament held an extraordinary meeting of the Committee on International Trade to discuss the legislation and the deal as a whole.
The U.S. apparently failed to implement promised tariff reductions on European Union goods in time for a Sept. 1 deadline outlined in an EU-U.S. joint statement issued Aug. 21.
President Donald Trump claimed that India offered to "cut their Tariffs to nothing," as India's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, stood firm against U.S. tariff pressure and promised deeper trade ties with Russia.