An Aug. 5 survey from the National Foreign Trade Council reveals concern among importers that current U.S. tariff policies are causing supply chain disruptions, inflating costs, and delaying planned projects.
The EU on Aug. 5 published a document to officially suspend the retaliatory tariffs it was set to impose on the U.S. on Aug. 7 (see 2507250007) if the two sides hadn’t come to a trade agreement. The U.S. and the EU announced a trade deal last last month (see 2507280027 and 2507280032), and suspending its retaliatory duties will help “ensure effective implementation of the political agreement,” the European Commission said in a document posted to the Official Journal of the EU. “The Commission should keep the suspension under review in light of further developments in the trade relations with the United States, and may take further actions.”
European Commission trade spokesperson Olof Gill, in a briefing in Brussels, said that the U.S. intention to allow some European steel to be imported without facing a 50% tariff will be in the forthcoming joint statement on the trade agreement. He said the work to set up the quota would follow.
President Donald Trump denied having said he would impose Russia-related secondary tariffs of 100%, but said a decision on what tariffs would be imposed for countries buying Russian energy would be decided on Aug. 6.
CBP has provided updated guidance on reciprocal tariffs that includes additional information on what goods are exempt, according to an Aug. 4 cargo systems message.
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.
Former trade negotiators and government trade advisers from both the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and Canada described the negotiating process of the last three months as one wherein even Cabinet members couldn't promise that a deal was done.
President Donald Trump, during a call-in interview on CNBC, said that he is going to raise India's 25% reciprocal tariff level "very substantially over the next 24 hours because they’re buying Russian oil, they’re fueling the war machine."
The recent trade deal announced between the U.S. and South Korea avoided the worst-case scenarios on the table and maintains comparative advantage with competitors, according to economists and experts on U.S.-Korea relations at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The Section 232 tariffs on copper and its derivatives appear to have been developed under a greater understanding of how U.S. manufacturing works, according to trade expert Cindy Allen, who appeared on an Aug. 1 "Simply Trade" podcast episode to discuss the numerous U.S. trade actions that occurred last week.