The United States is interested in negotiating a new free trade agreement with India, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told an Indian audience on March 8.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the tariffs that the president threatened over Canadian trade policies for dairy and lumber won't come this week, as the president had said two days earlier.
President Donald Trump told reporters that a 250% tariff on dairy products imported into Canada makes it impossible to sell U.S. dairy there, and that "a tremendously high tariff" on lumber in Canada also makes it impossible to export that product to Canada. He called U.S. exports to Canada in those two categories "almost nonexistent." He said he is going to set U.S. tariffs at the same levels.
The President has amended the executive orders imposing 25% tariffs on all Mexican goods, 10% tariffs on Canadian energy and 25% tariffs on other Canadian imports so that any good that qualifies for USMCA preference will be able to avoid the tariff, the White House said.
President Donald Trump is excluding Canadian and Mexican exports from 10% or 25% duties that began March 4, as long as those goods can qualify for USMCA benefits. The change starts at 12:01 a.m. March 7.
CBP plans to double down on implementing President Donald Trump's America First trade policy, according to federal officials speaking during the quarterly meeting of the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee, held in Atlanta on March 5.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, when asked by a Bloomberg TV reporter if tariffs will be hiked on April 2, or if a process begins then, said "some tariffs will come on right away," while others could take three weeks, four weeks, or two months, depending on which law is being used.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the president asked her to tell reporters that after he spoke with Detroit's Big Three automakers: "We are going to give a one-month exemption on any autos coming through USMCA. Reciprocal tariffs will still go into effect on April 2, but at the request of the companies associated with USMCA, the president is giving them an exemption for one month, so they are not at an economic disadvantage."
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.
Going from zero tariffs on most Canadian and Mexican imports to 25% convulsed Capitol Hill and foreign capitals, with some Republicans diverging from the president's protectionist message and Democrats universally using the action to attack Trump as the reason prices will go up.