A bipartisan bill was introduced this week in the Senate that asks the Commerce Department to study the national security risks posed by routers and modems designed, manufactured or sold by Chinese companies. Similar to the connected vehicles rule, a determination that these products imperil national security could result in a ban on their import, even if the products were built in Vietnam, Malaysia or other countries.
The Senate voted 68-29 late Jan. 27 to confirm hedge fund manager Scott Bessent as treasury secretary.
Momentum is building for President Donald Trump to levy 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada on Feb. 1 even though his administration has yet to engage in meaningful trade talks with both countries, a Jan. 26 Wall Street Journal report suggests.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Jan. 20-26:
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
A listing of recent Commerce Department antidumping and countervailing duty messages posted on CBP's website Jan. 27, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching for the listed CBP message number at CBP's ADCVD Search page.
CBP created Harmonized System Update 2504 on Jan. 24, containing four Automated Broker Interface (ABI) records and one Harmonized Tariff Schedule record. In support of the Participating Government Agency message set, PGA flag indicator AL1 for APHIS was updated.
The creation of an External Revenue Service (ERS) to collect tariffs, duties and other foreign trade-related revenues could result in realigning CBP so that the agency would fall under the Department of the Treasury instead of DHS, according to two ArentFox Schiff attorneys.
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.
The Trump administration may be beginning to favor the use of trade policy tools like tariffs to replace sanctions to compel foreign policy, researchers said on a podcast hosted by the Center for a New American Security last week.