President Donald Trump, when asked about whether Canada and Mexico had done enough on the border to be spared 25% tariffs on their goods, went on a rant about how the U.S. has been taken advantage of by its trading partners, and said that reciprocal tariffs will go forward.
President Donald Trump, when asked about whether Canada and Mexico had done enough on the border to be spared 25% tariffs on their goods, went on a rant about how the U.S. has been taken advantage of by its trading partners, and said that reciprocal tariffs will go forward.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
President Donald Trump directed the Commerce Department to launch a Section 232 investigation on copper and copper products, which will cover the effect of imports of copper, copper concentrates, refined copper, copper alloys, scrap copper and copper derivative products on national security -- specifically, how they affect domestic copper mining, smelting and refining. The investigation is not limited to those categories; as the order says, it should look at "imports of copper in all forms."
The Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD), a forum of U.S. and EU consumer organizations, issued a statement Feb. 24 urging the Trump administration to cease threatening tariffs on the European Union.
The Alliance for Chemical Distribution asked the Trump administration to support a renewal of the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program in Congress. The GSP program has been expired for more than four years.
The former chief counsel for trade enforcement strategy at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, who led the four-year review of Section 301 tariffs and the launch of a Section 301 investigation on mature chips, has joined DLA Piper as a partner in the national security and global trade practice. Brian Janovitz worked at USTR for more than 10 years, and also was involved in litigation, such as the biotech corn dispute, which the U.S. won.
The reciprocal tariffs the Trump administration has promised will present a challenge for CBP to enforce, trade lawyers said during a webinar presented by Baker McKenzie on Feb. 20.
Kevin Hassett, a top economic adviser who returned for President Donald Trump's second term, told reporters at the White House on Feb. 21 that he and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had just met with top Mexican officials about fentanyl and about reciprocal trade.
CBP has released its Feb. 19 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 59, No. 8), which includes the following ruling actions: