The EU officially published in its Oct. 20 Official Journal the revised carbon border adjustment mechanism, which is expected to exempt 90% of European importers from the new rules (see 2509290011). The European Commission said this "marks the final step in the formal adoption process," allowing the bloc to soon require taxes on certain imports covered by the carbon duty. Traders must pay taxes beginning in 2026 (see 2310020037) and 2410170036).
The EU should expand export controls over advanced technology and impose new tariffs against China to counter Beijing’s sweeping export curbs on rare earths (see 2510090021), a major European think tank said this week.
EU and Chinese officials are planning to meet in Brussels in the “coming days” to discuss China’s new export controls over rare earths 2510090021), said Maros Sefcovic, the EU’s trade and economic security commissioner, in an Oct. 21 social media post. Sefcovic said Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao will travel to Europe, and the EU hopes to “find urgent solutions on export controls.”
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is asking the Commerce Department to allow exclusions for aluminum and steel products subject to Section 232 tariffs, as they did in the first term, because lobstermen are finding it harder to make a profit due to higher costs.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, the top Democrat on a Russian secondary sanctions bill, said he's not discouraged that Senate Majority Leader John Thune is putting off a vote on the bill again. The bill has 85 sponsors in the Senate, and would give the president the ability to put up to 500% tariffs on the goods of countries that buy Russian fossil fuels; it also would expand sanctions on Russian officials.
President Donald Trump said that China's President Xi Jinping wants "to discuss the fact that they're paying 157% tariff, it's a little higher than they thought. And we're doing very well. I think we're going to do well in that negotiation."
The 12 U.S. states challenging President Donald Trump's ability to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act filed their reply brief at the Supreme Court on Oct. 20, arguing that the text of IEEPA doesn't allow for any tariffs to be imposed and that Trump's reciprocal tariffs and tariffs to combat the flow of fentanyl don't meet the statute's other requirements (Donald J. Trump v. V.O.S. Selections, U.S. 25-250) (Learning Resources v. Donald J. Trump, U.S. 24-1287).
The Court of International Trade on Oct. 21 granted the government's motion for default judgment against importer E-Dong, U.S.A. for negligently failing to pay a federal excise tax on 20 entries of its "Korean distilled beverage soju." Judge Timothy Reif ordered E-Dong to pay $234,748.30 in unpaid federal excise tax along with pre- and post-judgment interest, which shall be calculated according to the relevant statutes.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP recently issued two rulings on duty-free classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule heading 9817, including one that unsuccessfully lobbied for a reconsideration of a previous ruling.