President Donald Trump posted on social media that a new round of tariffs will begin Oct. 1, on kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities, upholstered furniture, brand-name pharmaceuticals and heavy trucks. He said the tariffs on cabinets and vanities, furniture and heavy trucks are for national security purposes.
The Commerce Department revealed it started an investigation three weeks ago on the import of and supply chains for personal protective equipment, medical consumables, medical equipment and medical devices.
Tariff cuts for automobiles and auto parts take retroactive effect Aug. 1, said the Commerce Department and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in a notice implementing that and other parts of the recent U.S.-EU trade deal.
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.
National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America leadership raised concerns about the Section 232 tariff inclusion process and plans for an external revenue service in recent meetings on Capitol Hill and with agency officials, NCBFAA customs counsel Lenny Feldman said in an interview.
Responding to our question on Whirlpool's claims that U.S. import data shows its competitors are evading tariffs (see 2509150067), a CBP spokesperson told us that import data has recently been skewed by accidental overreporting of the quantity of goods imported, causing an erroneous spike in import volumes for affected goods.
British news outlets reported that there was an agreement to allow a small quota of British steel to enter the U.S. duty-free, and subject the rest of steel and aluminum products to the currently applicable 25% Section 232 tariff, but that the deal was abandoned shortly before President Donald Trump's arrival in London this week.
President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters just ahead of a visit to King Charles III in England, said the U.K. government would like to "refine the trade deal a little bit ... I'm into helping them." He added, "They'd like to see if they can get a little bit better deal, so we'll talk to them."
The first window for requests for new auto parts to be covered by Section 232 tariffs will open Oct. 1, beginning a 14-day submission window, followed by a 60-day period to consider the inclusion requests, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security said in an interim final rule outlining the inclusion process.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s U.S.-U.K. Business Council issued a statement that the president's trip to England this week is a great time to "advance discussions on finalizing the U.S.-UK Economic Prosperity deal."