An exemption for USMCA-qualifying goods from 10% and 25% tariffs on goods from Canada will take effect at 12:01 a.m. on March 7. An executive order signed by President Donald Trump exempts all goods “that are entered free of duty as a good of Canada under the terms of general note 11” of the tariff schedule from the tariffs, “including any treatment set forth in subchapter XXIII of chapter 98 and subchapter XXII of chapter 99.”
The President has amended the executive orders imposing 25% tariffs on all Mexican goods, 10% tariffs on Canadian energy and 25% tariffs on other Canadian imports so that any good that qualifies for USMCA preference will be able to avoid the tariff, the White House said.
Three senators introduced a resolution that would terminate the emergency that the president declared on the northern border -- which, if successful, would terminate the 25% tariff on most Canadian goods and 10% tariff on energy that President Donald Trump imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., speaking March 5 at the American Enterprise Institute about the path to pass a tax cuts extension and spending cuts bill, said that tariff revenue will help to pay down government debt, even if it's not part of the legislative package.
President Donald Trump posted on social media March 5 that his call with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau "ended in a 'somewhat' friendly manner," but that he told him that a reduction in fentanyl smuggling from Canada to the U.S. is not good enough.
CBP plans to double down on implementing President Donald Trump's America First trade policy, according to federal officials speaking during the quarterly meeting of the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee, held in Atlanta on March 5.
Rep. Linda Sanchez of California, the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee, criticized President Donald Trump's executive actions, predecessor Joe Biden's rulemaking and a past bill that moved through Ways and Means that aimed to curtail de minimis in various ways. She called them all "half-measures or simply playing Whac-A-Mole with specific countries."
Vehicles that meet the USMCA rules of origin will be able to enter the U.S. duty-free again, for one month, two White House spokespeople said March 5.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, when asked by a Bloomberg TV reporter if tariffs will be hiked on April 2, or if a process begins then, said "some tariffs will come on right away," while others could take three weeks, four weeks, or two months, depending on which law is being used.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the president asked her to tell reporters that after he spoke with Detroit's Big Three automakers: "We are going to give a one-month exemption on any autos coming through USMCA. Reciprocal tariffs will still go into effect on April 2, but at the request of the companies associated with USMCA, the president is giving them an exemption for one month, so they are not at an economic disadvantage."