CBP expects to continue to implement new Section 232 tariffs should the government shutdown persist past the effective date of any new tariffs, officials said on an Oct. 1 call with the trade to discuss the government shutdown. CBP also plans to implement expected tariffs, such as the ones for lumber and furniture that take effect Oct. 14, without delays.
House Ways and Means Committee ranking member Rep. Richard Neal. D-Mass., Trade Subcommittee ranking member Rep. Linda Sánchez, D-Calif., and fellow committee member Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., said on Sept. 30 that letting the African Growth and Opportunity Act expire is "a grave mistake."
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.
The likelihood of the Supreme Court striking down President Donald Trump's tariffs issued under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act is a "coin flip," various attorneys said during a Sept. 30 webinar hosted by The Budget Lab, a policy research center at Yale University. Scott Lincicome, vice president of general economics at the Cato Institute, an amicus in the IEEPA tariffs cases, noted a "very clear split" among trade lawyers and constitutional lawyers as to where the Supreme Court will come out on this issue.
The chief negotiator for the European Union, Maros Sefcovic, said that while the EU has a reputation for having "very complicated rules and regulations," that doesn't compare to the burden on companies trying to quantify how much steel (and its cost at the time it was sourced) went into making a Bosch refrigerator, Miele dishwasher or a BMW motorcycle.
Section 232 tariffs on timber, lumber and their derivatives will take effect Oct. 14, under a proclamation issued by President Donald Trump. Tariffs will be set at 10% for timber and lumber, 25% for upholstered furniture and 25% on wooden cabinets and vanities.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said that while the administration doesn't expect to lose its tariff case at the Supreme Court, "wherever we end up," the approach will be similar to what it is now.
President Donald Trump posted on social media that he is going to impose a 100% tariff on "any and all movies that are made outside of the United States," a repeat of a declaration he made on social media in May but didn't follow through on (see 2505050003). In the earlier post, he called foreign filming a national security threat, but in this one, he gave no clue what authority he would use.
Days after President Donald Trump said 30% tariffs on upholstered furniture were starting Oct. 1, he wrote on social media, "In order to make North Carolina, which has completely lost its furniture business to China, and other Countries, GREAT again, I will be imposing substantial Tariffs on any Country that does not make its furniture in the United States. Details to follow!!! President DJT"
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters: