Tariffs. Customs. Trade Remedies

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United States

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In brief Following the US administration’s extensive new import tariffs, many companies are grappling with increased costs and supply chain uncertainty. What happens when a deal becomes financially unsustainable due to government-imposed trade restrictions? Companies should consider the force majeure and change management clauses in their contracts, and the doctrines of impossibility, impracticability and frustration of purpose under applicable statutes and the common law, to assess whether they are entitled to relief. This article examines these…

In the latest of a series of recent tariff developments, the White House has announced a temporary indefinite suspension of tariffs on certain goods from Canada and Mexico which comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) origin requirement, effective from 7 March 2025. The tariffs, initially imposed on 4 March 2025, included a 25% duty on Canadian and Mexican goods, with a reduced 10% rate for Canadian energy products. While several White House officials have…

There is never a dull moment in the ongoing trade war. With effect of 12 March 2025, the US reinstated the June 2018 Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum products at a rate of 25% and extended these tariffs to a larger scope of steel and aluminum products (see our prior blog post on the US Section 232 tariffs here). On 12 March 2025, the EU announced countermeasures which shall protect European businesses and…

President Donald Trump confirmed on March 3, 2025, that the long-anticipated tariffs called for on Canada and Mexico would take effect, alongside additional tariffs against Chinese imports. The 25% tariffs against Canada and Mexico came into force on March 4, 2025, after a 30-day suspension of the measures, which had been paused pending negotiations between the countries. An additional 10% tariff has been imposed against Chinese imports, which will be applied on top of the…

President Trump signed an executive order on February 1, 2025 (“Executive Order”), imposing long‑anticipated tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“US Tariffs”). Canada retaliated swiftly by implementing retaliatory tariffs; however, both sets of tariffs were paused for 30-days while the US and Canada negotiated whether the tariffs would come into force. Despite Canada undertaking extensive measures to secure its border, the US implemented the US Tariffs at 12:01 AM EST on March…

President Trump issued a memorandum directing the US Trade Representative (“USTR”) and Secretary of Commerce to investigate alleged harm from non-reciprocal trade measures by trade partners and to issue recommendations based on their investigation.  The memorandum argues that a range of tariff and non-tariff measures maintained by various countries have contributed to unfair and unbalanced trade and harmed the United States.  Non-tariff measures specifically identified in the memorandum as being unfair and harmful to the United States include: The memorandum directs…

Baker McKenzie’s Global Customs Practice invites you to join us for a follow up webinar on “Trump and Tariffs: Section 232 Tariff Announcement, Reciprocal & Retaliatory Tariffs and More”This one-hour webinar will take place Thursday, 20 February 2025 at 10:00 CST / 11:00 EST / 17:00 CET.On February 10th President Trump announced that 25% tariffs will be imposed on all steel and aluminum products imported into the US from all countries, including Canada, Mexico, the EU and UK,…

Following the latest of a number of tariff-related announcements, President Donald Trump has officially confirmed that 25 percent tariffs will be imposed on all steel and aluminium imports into the US beginning March 12, 2025. The tariffs will also be expanded to include derivative steel articles once the Department of Commerce has implemented “adequate systems” to collect the tariffs on such articles. These blanket tariffs will apply to all imports into the US, regardless of…

President Trump signed an executive order on February 7, 2025, temporarily suspending the prohibition against products from China being imported duty- and tax-free under the de minimis exemption for low-value imports. The executive order amends the February 1, 2025, executive order imposing 10% tariffs on all imports of Chinese-origin goods that became effective on February 4, 2025. This latest executive order follows significant confusion as the February 1, 2025, executive order went into effect, with…

US tariffs on imports of Chinese-origin products went into effect at 12.01am ET on February 4, 2025, with 10% duties being imposed on all imports of Chinese-origin goods. The executive order implementing the tariffs directs that in addition to imposing 10% tariffs on all goods of Chinese origin, low-value shipments of Chinese-origin goods are no longer eligible for duty-free entry under Section 321 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 USC 1321), significantly impacting e-commerce…