President Donald Trump and Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had a "friendly" talk for 30 minutes Oct. 6, according to an unofficial translation of a Brazilian readout. Trump wrote on social media, "This morning, I had a very good telephone call with President Lula, of Brazil. We discussed many things, but it was mostly focused on the Economy, and Trade, between our two Countries. We will be having further discussions, and will get together in the not too distant future, both in Brazil and the United States. I enjoyed the call — Our Countries will do very well together!"
There will be some rapprochement on trade between India and the U.S. by the end of the year, but nothing substantive, former U.S. trade negotiators predicted during an Oct. 3 webinar.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
In the Oct. 1 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 59, No. 40), CBP published proposals to modify or revoke ruling letters concerning the tariff classification of men’s outerwear jackets from China.
Think tank scholars said they think it's possible that tariffs on Chinese goods could decline by 20 percentage points after the two countries' presidents meet in a month, but that it's also possible that tariffs could soar again if President Donald Trump is angered by China's support for Russia, Iran or aggression toward the Philippines.
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.
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.
John Foote, former chief of Kelley Drye's customs practice, has joined Sidley as a partner in the global arbitration, trade and advocacy practice, the firm announced. Foote, who worked at Kelley Drye since 2020, represents clients on various customs matters at both the administrative and judicial levels, including classification, valuation, country of origin, drawback, tariff exclusions, withhold release orders and antidumping/countervailing duty evasion issues, Sidley said. Prior to joining Kelley Drye, Foote worked as an associate and partner at Baker McKenzie for six years.
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that he will meet with President Donald Trump Oct. 7 to "focus on shared priorities in a new economic and security relationship between Canada and the U.S."
The International Trade Commission published notices in the Oct. 3 Federal Register on the following antidumping and countervailing duty injury, Section 337 patent or other trade proceedings (any notices that warrant a more detailed summary will be in another ITT article):