The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Business Roundtable and other major voices of business said Section 232 tariffs applied to Canadian and Mexican goods that meet USMCA eligibility are a clear violation of the pact, and need to end. The business groups, which opened the second day of an Interagency hearing on what the U.S. should prioritize in next year's USMCA review, also emphasized how imports from and exports to Mexico and Canada are essential for domestic manufacturing.

Specialty crop interests testifying at the first of three days of hearings on UMSCA Dec. 3 disagreed on whether duty-free access for Mexican imports should continue, and protectionists' arguments were echoed by Global Trade Watch.

The Bureau of Industry and Security will likely approve nearly all newly submitted requests for inclusions of new tariff subheadings under 50% Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum derivatives, according to a Nov. 30 blog post by trade lawyer Paul Fudacz.

Since the United Kingdom's National Health Service has agreed to pay more for new medicines, the Trump administration is pledging "to exempt U.K.-origin pharmaceuticals, pharmaceutical ingredients, and medical technology from Section 232 tariffs and will refrain from targeting U.K. pharmaceutical pricing practices in any future Section 301 investigation for the duration of President [Donald] Trump’s term."

Manufacturing trade groups and companies mostly argued in comments to the U.S. Trade Representative that USMCA rules of origin for their sectors shouldn't change as part of the pact's review, and if they do, it should be only after extensive consultation with industry, and with adequate transition times.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced Nov. 26 that it will extend the 178 currently existing exclusions from Section 301 tariffs on China until Nov. 10, 2026, as expected (see 2511030005). The exclusions had been set to expire Nov. 29, but the Trump administration agreed to extend them as part of a deal that also cut tariffs on China by 10% and halted ship-docking fees in return for China pausing export controls on rare earths, lowering retaliatory tariffs and stopping its own retaliatory ship fees.

Trade Law Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week, in case you missed them. All articles can be found by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.

The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Nov. 17-23:

The following lawsuits were filed recently at the Court of International Trade:

A think tank says a surgical modernization of CAFTA-DR is the best approach for the future of the free trade agreement, though allowing Central American countries or the Dominican Republic to join USMCA is another option.