Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., asked Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to expand trade actions started with the Section 232 investigation on pharmaceuticals, so that they cover generic drugs and the active pharmaceutical ingredients and key starting materials in those medicines.
President Donald Trump posted on social media that 25% tariffs on medium and heavy-duty trucks will begin Nov. 1. The additional tariffs are being imposed under a national security Section 232 action. Trump had previously said the tariffs would begin Oct. 1.
During the government shutdown or "funding hiatus," CBP cannot offer refunds or any payments that involve receiving a check from the Treasury Department, including drawback claim payments, protests and post-summary corrections, a CBP official said during an Oct. 6 call to discuss shutdown-related issues.
Taiwan has rejected the idea of a 50-50 split in chip manufacturing recently proposed by U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick (see 2509290046).
Pharmaceutical tariffs were not applied on Oct. 1, as previously threatened by the Trump administration (see 2509250066), to give companies time to continue negotiating and begin on-shoring their manufacturing, according to recent statements by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
The Commerce Department released its shutdown contingency plan on Sept. 29, which stated that only 60 out of 1,272 International Trade Association employees are excepted from furlough as "most services and activities" of the agency will cease, though the Bureau of Industry and Security's work on Section 232 investigations will continue.
Pfizer announced that, after agreeing to expand manufacturing and change its pricing strategy, its imported drugs will not be tariffed.
Tariff preferences for sub-Saharan African countries and two of the three tariff preference programs for Haiti ended Oct. 1. In a hallway interview at the Capitol, Senate Finance Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, said that he "would love to [renew both] retroactively."
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.
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