Canada this week published new guidance and other resources to help Canadian companies facing increased costs from “unjustified tariffs” imposed by the U.S., including a new webpage for understanding how businesses can secure tariff-free treatment for certain goods under USMCA. Canada said it’s “providing new and comprehensive information on rules of origin and customs procedures under” the trade deal, including a new webpage on understanding USMCA compliance, “self-serve resources for problem solving related to tariffs,” and a list of federal and provincial Canadian support programs available to businesses. The country also said small and medium-size companies can call the government’s new hotline on weekdays for information on USMCA.
Paul Dabbar, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be deputy commerce secretary, said May 1 that he would support the 1979 international Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft, which calls for eliminating tariffs on civil aircraft, engines, flight simulators and related parts.
Luke Lindberg, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be undersecretary of agriculture for trade and foreign agricultural affairs, said April 29 that he would seek to lower barriers to U.S. agricultural exports in a wide range of places, including the EU, which “routinely shuts out our products at the altar of non-scientific based claims.”
The Chinese government has reportedly added U.S. ethane imports to a growing list of unannounced exemptions to its universal 125% tariff rate on U.S. products.
The U.K. this week published a plan to reform its system for streamlining imports of goods that benefit from duty-free entry because they’re being imported temporarily, part of a broader package of tax updates released by the country’s revenue and customs agency. The changes will help businesses that import goods for short-term projects, exhibitions or events, the agency said, and “reflect the government’s commitment to a modern customs regime which supports businesses and responds to global trade and complex supply chains.” It’s also expecting the updates to “improve the customer experience for businesses engaging with customs.”
Japanese lawmakers this week urged the Trump administration to continue engaging with allies on economic security issues and to not close off America from Japanese investment, saying Japanese companies will help grow American exports and reduce the U.S. trade deficit.
Recent U.S. trade actions, such as the IEEPA tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico, the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum derivatives, and the temporarily paused reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries worldwide, could cause global container volumes to slump by 1% in 2025, according to U.K-based maritime shipping advisory firm Drewry.
Amid swirling reports that China is considering exemptions from tariffs on some critical U.S. goods, an industry expert said that these moves should not be read as a broader shift in the trade war between the two countries.
Foreign countries' retaliatory tariffs against the Trump administration’s new global tariffs could cut U.S. exports of goods covered by the World Trade Organization’s Information Technology Agreement by at least $56 billion a year, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation said April 23.
China, which has imposed export controls on critical minerals in recent years to retaliate against foreign trade restrictions, is expected to continue doing so, a researcher told the congressionally mandated U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission April 24.