CBP has been tightening its enforcement on reporting of steel and aluminum content for Section 232 duty purposes, based on criteria that have yet to be made public in formal guidance, according to customs brokers and trade attorneys interviewed by International Trade Today.
Reps. Ami Bera, D-Calif., and Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., sent a Dec. 8 letter to President Donald Trump urging him to provide tariff relief for Japan as it weathers economic coercion from China. In a press release publicizing the letter, they called for "greater support" for Japan due to China's "escalating campaign of economic and military coercion." The letter asked Trump to "reconsider tariffs on Japan" and "send a clear message that the United States rejects the normalization of Beijing’s coercive trade tactics."
CBP has corrected a single reference in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule reporting instructions for reciprocal tariffs applicable to products from South Korea, which originally were published Dec. 3 via a cargo systems message (see 2512030042). The HTS number to be reported in for goods with an MFN or Korea free trade agreement rate of less than 15% should be 9903.02.80, CBP said.
CBP has started developing a functionality in ACE that the agency says will improve CBP's ability to collect penalty payments assessed to parties that fail to meet in-bond shipment requirements, according to the December ACE Development and Deployment Schedule (see "December 2025 Changes" list on the last two pages).
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said it will impose a 10% Section 301 tariff on Nicaraguan imports beginning Jan. 1, 2027, but the tariffs won't apply to goods that qualify for the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR). That tariff would be in addition to the 18% reciprocal tariff and most-favored nation rates, USTR said Dec. 10. The announcement says the Section 301 tariffs, which are intended to address human and labor rights abuses and the "dismantling of the rule of law," would increase to 15% on Jan. 1, 2028. "Further, should Nicaragua show a lack of progress in addressing these issues, this timeline and these rates may be modified," USTR said.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer signaled that the Trump administration is preparing a broad overhaul of key parts of the USMCA, focusing on changing non-automobile rules of origin to incentivize U.S. production.
The House Ways and Means Committee voted 37-3 to recommend a renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act through the end of 2028, with retroactive benefits since the program expired Sept. 30 (see 2512090051). Requests for liquidation or reliquidation would have to be filed within 180 days of enactment of the law, and CBP would have to pay within 90 days. No interest would be offered on the tariff refunds.
Expanding access to manifest data from sources to include air cargo manifests and other transportation modes could provide the public and trade stakeholders with greater ability to ferret out forced labor in the supply chain, said Laura Murphy, senior associate with the Center for Strategic and International Studies' Human Rights Initiative, in a Dec. 8 blog post.
Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., introduced a bill on Dec. 5 to establish a program to make direct payments to specialty crop growers and wine producers that experience certain losses due to increased tariff burdens. It was referred to the Agriculture Committee.
As lawsuits seeking refunds of International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariffs at the Court of International Trade continue to mount, lawyers remain uncertain of the refund process that would be followed should the Supreme Court strike down the tariffs, including whether refunds will come via judicial or administrative pathways.