Steve Verheul, Canada's chief trade negotiator during President Donald Trump's first term, who worked on NAFTA's replacement, says Canada wants a trade pact that has known rules, and whose stability allows companies to make long-term plans.
The Commerce Department will on Jan. 1 begin a two-week window for requests for new products to be included under Section 232 tariffs on auto parts, it said in a notice released Dec. 15. Inclusion requests will be accepted through 11:59 p.m. ET on Jan. 14, after which the agency will post the inclusion requests it receives for comment and begin a 60-day process to consider whether to grant the inclusions.
The Court of International Trade denied a group of importers' motion for a preliminary injunction against liquidation of their entries subject to tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act on the basis that the trade court has the power to order reliquidation of the entries if the Supreme Court strikes down the IEEPA tariffs.
The House Select Committee on China agreed that the Bureau of Industry and Security's connected vehicle rule, which was issued at the end of the Biden administration but starts to bite in mid-March, should be codified.
CBP’s base metals Center of Excellence and Expertise recently released new guidance on calculating steel, aluminum and copper content for Section 232 duty calculation purposes.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said he expects the U.S. will announce more trade deals, and release text about previously announced framework deals "in the coming weeks."
CBP has been tightening its enforcement on reporting of steel and aluminum content for Section 232 duty purposes, based on criteria that have yet to be made public in formal guidance, according to customs brokers and trade attorneys interviewed by International Trade Today.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said it will impose a 10% Section 301 tariff on Nicaraguan imports beginning Jan. 1, 2027, but the tariffs won't apply to goods that qualify for the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR). That tariff would be in addition to the 18% reciprocal tariff and most-favored nation rates, USTR said Dec. 10. The announcement says the Section 301 tariffs, which are intended to address human and labor rights abuses and the "dismantling of the rule of law," would increase to 15% on Jan. 1, 2028. "Further, should Nicaragua show a lack of progress in addressing these issues, this timeline and these rates may be modified," USTR said.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer signaled that the Trump administration is preparing a broad overhaul of key parts of the USMCA, focusing on changing non-automobile rules of origin to incentivize U.S. production.
The House Ways and Means Committee voted 37-3 to recommend a renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act through the end of 2028, with retroactive benefits since the program expired Sept. 30 (see 2512090051). Requests for liquidation or reliquidation would have to be filed within 180 days of enactment of the law, and CBP would have to pay within 90 days. No interest would be offered on the tariff refunds.