Thailand on Jan. 1 will end its import duty exemption for low‑value goods, which for years exempted imports worth less than about $45, according to the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. HKTDC said the average Thai tariff rate for imports is about 10% and is expected to most significantly affect major online platforms that ship small parcels, such as Amazon and eBay.
China published its 2026 tariff plan this week, outlining new rates for hundreds of commodities while lowering duties on other items, the country's Ministry of Finance said Dec. 29, according to an unofficial translation.
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China will take “corresponding measures” if the U.S. “continues down the wrong path” by imposing Section 301 tariffs on semiconductors, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said during a regular press conference Dec. 24 in Beijing.
Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and John Kennedy, R-La., have urged the Trump administration to pressure the EU to repeal a new methane mandate that they say could hurt U.S. oil and gas exports.
The European Commission is seeking public comments on possible export tariffs on certain aluminum scrap, which it said could lead to proposed "targeted measures" as soon as the spring. The consultation period comes after the EU in March adopted a steel and metals "action plan" that stressed the importance of ensuring "sufficient availability of scrap for EU producers." That plan said the Commission planned to examine "whether additional measures, such as export fees or export duties, are necessary." Comments are due by the end of Jan. 31.
China's Ministry of Commerce said the country has filed a request for consultations at the World Trade Organization over Indian tariffs on information and communication technology products and photovoltaic subsidy measures. China submitted the request Dec. 19, a ministry spokesperson said, adding that it suspects the duties and subsidies violate "several WTO obligations, including binding tariffs and national treatment, and constitute import substitution subsidies, which are expressly prohibited by the WTO."
A bipartisan group of House members led by Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, introduced a compromise Russia sanctions bill Dec. 18 that they hammered out through a flurry of year-end negotiations.
Taiwan opened dispute consultations with Canada at the World Trade Organization regarding Canada's tariff rate quotas and surtax on certain steel goods and its global duty on certain steel derivative goods, the WTO announced. The consultations request formally opens a WTO dispute and gives the parties 60 days to resolve it, after which it will be sent to adjudication before a panel.
The EU is aiming to expand the scope of its upcoming carbon border tariff to apply to 180 steel and "aluminium-intensive" products produced downstream.