President Donald Trump posted on social media March 5 that his call with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau "ended in a 'somewhat' friendly manner," but that he told him that a reduction in fentanyl smuggling from Canada to the U.S. is not good enough.
President Donald Trump posted on social media on March 3, "To the Great Farmers of the United States: Get ready to start making a lot of agricultural product to be sold INSIDE of the United States. Tariffs will go on external product on April 2nd. Have fun!"
Going from zero tariffs on most Canadian and Mexican imports to 25% convulsed Capitol Hill and foreign capitals, with some Republicans diverging from the president's protectionist message and Democrats universally using the action to attack Trump as the reason prices will go up.
The trade community is closely watching whether plans by the Department of Government Efficiency to drastically cut the federal workforce will have any impact on trade operations, judging by recent social media posts.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Feb. 10 that will hike tariffs on imported aluminum to 25%, ends quota arrangements with the EU, South Korea and Brazil in steel and aluminum, and curtails both product exclusions and the exemptions for Canada and Mexico.
After President Donald Trump announced his sweeping tariff action on China under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, as well as now-delayed IEEPA tariffs on Mexico and Canada, trade lawyers told us to expect the duties to be challenged in court. Matt Nicely, lead counsel in the ongoing case against tariffs imposed on China during Trump's first administration, said in an email that a legal challenge is coming, a sentiment echoed across the trade bar.
Tariffs will be delayed on Canada, President Donald Trump decided about eight hours before the deadline, and hours after he announced Mexico wouldn't face tariffs for the next month. He also granted Canada 30 days to convince him to keep duty-free trade flowing.
President Donald Trump posted on social media that he is holding off on imposing tariffs on Mexico for a month. "I just spoke with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico. It was a very friendly conversation wherein she agreed to immediately supply 10,000 Mexican Soldiers on the Border separating Mexico and the United States," he wrote. "These soldiers will be specifically designated to stop the flow of fentanyl, and illegal migrants into our Country. We further agreed to immediately pause the anticipated tariffs for a one month period during which we will have negotiations headed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent, and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and high-level Representatives of Mexico."
Ocean carrier China United Lines alleges it is owed $96.4 million in reparations from Amazon because the Seattle-based shipper failed to honor a transportation service contract the parties agreed to in 2022, according to a complaint filed this month with the Federal Maritime Commission.
The chairman of the House Select Committee on China said Jan. 22 that the U.S. should take a harder line against China's aggressive policies on trade, investment and other matters.