President Donald Trump, after a commercial aired in Ontario with audio from Ronald Reagan pointing out that tariffs harm the country that imposes them, declared on social media after 11 p.m. Oct. 23, "Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED."
Small businesses have to hike prices more due to imports compared with large companies, and also are likely to face a higher tariff burden because of their lack of leverage with suppliers, according to an analysis published this week by the American Action Forum's Jacob Jensen.
Think tank and academic experts say that China and the U.S. are misinterpreting both sides' actions and the other country's vulnerability to the trade war, and that may extend the battles.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is seeking comments on what remedy should be used to react to Nicaragua's human rights and labor rights violations, and the country's "dismantling of the rule of law."
Ten Democrats, including the ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee, told Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick that they are questioning the legitimacy of tariffs on national security grounds against cars, household appliances and kitchen cabinets.
The Court of International Trade on Oct. 20 denied importer Detroit Axle's motion to lift the stay of its case contesting President Donald Trump's decision to end the de minimis threshold for goods from China. In a text-only order, the trade court said the company's motion for partial summary judgment is stayed pending resolution of V.O.S. Selections v. Donald J. Trump, the lead case on whether Trump can use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs, which is currently being briefed before the Supreme Court (Axle of Dearborn d/b/a Detroit Axle v. United States, CIT # 25-00091).
Companies may need to decide soon whether to file protests as a means of hedging against how the Supreme Court might rule on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariffs, Flexport's Marcus Eeman said on an Oct. 22 webinar on recent U.S. tariff actions.
In an effort to drive sales, suppliers have been offering dodgy tariff mitigation strategies to importers, lawyers with Foley and Lardner warned during an Oct. 22 webinar. Suppliers, particularly in countries hard-hit by tariffs like China and India, are as desperate as importers to avoid the painfully high tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, and may offer bad advice to importers to drive sales, lawyer John Turlais said.
Nicholas Burns, a career diplomat who served as ambassador to China in the Biden administration, told the Atlantic Council that while the Trump administration may have miscalculated "that China didn't have real weight to throw around," he also thinks President Donald Trump has been right to be "tough-minded" on China's economic policies.
President Donald Trump pushed back on complaints from cattle ranchers and politicians who have large cattle industries in their states, arguing that the 50% tariff he put on Brazilian beef already juiced their bottom lines.