The Commerce Department will add 407 Harmonized Tariff Schedule codes to the lists of steel and aluminum derivatives subject to Section 232 tariffs, the agency said in a notice released late Aug. 15. Tariffs on the new additions take effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on Aug. 18, 2025.
The International Trade Commission instituted an investigation on Aug. 12 that will lead to recommendations to modify the Harmonized Tariff Schedule in line with those recommended by the World Customs Organization for the global Harmonized System.
The USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service has set a $350 fee to be charged for each license issued authorizing imports of certain dairy articles according to the 2026 tariff rate quota year, it said in a Federal Register notice. The fee amount, effective Aug. 15, covers calendar year 2026; licenses are issued on a calendar year basis.
De Minimis Phase-Out Potentially Will Divert Resources, Create More Work for Customs, Port Exec Says
The end of de minimis at the end of August (see 2507300046) could not only result in longer transit times, it also could mean the diversion of resources to customs work, the executive director of the Port of Los Angeles said during the port's monthly media briefing on Aug. 13.
The Coalition for Prosperous America is proposing that a Section 232 investigation on polysilicon result in a tariff-rate quota that is limited to "in-quota trusted suppliers" such as South Korea or Germany, and that excludes Chinese products. A "$0.10 per watt tariff" should apply to over-quota imports of solar cells, with a quota volume "tied to U.S. production capacity" and overseen by the Department of Energy, it said in public comments.
Asking other countries to open their markets to more exports from the U.S. is causing significant changes to how countries have historically conducted trade, according to speakers on Gibson Dunn's Aug. 8 webinar "U.S. Trade Policy: Navigating Uncharted Waters."
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged the Group of Seven nations to follow the U.S. in imposing secondary tariffs on countries that continue to buy Russian oil, including possibly China.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that wrapping up remaining trade deals by October is "aspirational" in part because India has been "recalcitrant" during trade negotiations.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will likely rule against the Trump administration in the lead case on the legality of tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, though it's unclear under what exact rationale the court will do so, said Peter Harrell, a former National Security Council official during the Biden administration.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters: