CBP has issued a withhold release order blocking imports of bicycles, bicycle parts and accessories from Taiwanese manufacturer Giant Manufacturing amid forced labor allegations. A Sept. 24 CBP release said CBP found five forced labor indicators during its investigation of Giant: abuse of vulnerability; abusive working and living conditions; debt bondage; withholding of wages; and excessive overtime. CBP says this WRO is the third issued in 2025 and the fourth issued in fiscal year 2025, which ends on Sept. 30.
Tariff cuts for automobiles and auto parts will take effect Aug. 1, said the Commerce Department in a notice implementing that and other parts of the recent U.S.-EU trade deal.
Tariff cuts for Japanese automobiles and auto parts will take effect Sept. 16, according to a notice released by the Commerce Department.
The Supreme Court agreed to hear two cases, on an expedited basis, concerning the legality of tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Briefing will conclude by Oct. 30 and the consolidated cases will be heard the first week of November. The high court decided to consolidate two cases on the issue, one of which was fully before the court on the merits following the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's ruling that the reciprocal tariffs and tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico to combat the flow of fentanyl went beyond the president's authority in IEEPA. The second case, which was pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, was exclusively on whether IEEPA categorically allows for tariffs.
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.
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.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Aug. 29 said the president doesn't have unlimited tariff authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Seven of the court's 11 total justices presiding over the case affirmed the Court of International Trade's conclusion that President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs and tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico meant to combat the flow of fentanyl exceed the president's authority under IEEPA.
CBP released a Federal Register notice late on Aug. 28 outlining procedures and requirements for the end of the de minimis exemption at 12:01 ET Aug. 29. Among other things, the notice says the executive order ending de minimis for all countries supersedes the relevant provisions of the earlier executive order that ended de minimis for China, meaning that postal shipments from China entered on or after Aug. 29 will be subject to the same flat-rate duties for postal shipments as all other countries.
Court of International Trade Judge Timothy Reif on Aug. 22 vacated the Commerce Department’s pause on antidumping and countervailing duties on solar cells from Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Malaysia -- in place until June 6, 2024 -- after a finding that the countries' exporters were circumventing an antidumping duty on solar cells from China (Auxin Solar v. United States, CIT # 23-00274).
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."