On June 3, President Trump signed a proclamation increasing tariffs on certain imported steel and aluminum to 50% under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. The proclamation increases the applicable rate of these duties from 25% and makes additional changes as to the applicable duties for certain products which could be subject to multiple tariff schemes. A summary of the effects of this June 3 proclamation are outlined in this update. Key…
In early May 2025, President Donald Trump proposed a new tariff policy targeting foreign-made films. In a post on his social media platform, President Trump announced plans to impose a 100% tariff on all movies produced outside the United States and imported for American audiences. The move, he said, is necessary to protect American jobs and the domestic film industry, which he said is being undercut by foreign governments offering generous production incentives to lure…
On May 12, 2025, the United States and China announced their agreement to reduce the high tariff rates imposed on each other’s goods since early April while they enter into consultations to resolve their respective trade concerns. The agreement remains a temporary measure rather than a comprehensive resolution. US Tariff Modifications The United States will, for an initial period of 90 days, reduce the “reciprocal” tariff rate on Chinese goods from 125% to the baseline…
The United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US) have concluded a trade deal covering a range of products and promoting market access for goods. In response to the recent additional tariffs adopted by the US administration, both countries agreed to the following: Additionally, the UK-US trade deal includes: The US administration has also announced that this trade deal includes streamlined customs procedures for US exports, the creation of a secure supply chain for pharmaceutical…
The European Commission has unveiled a proposed response to the US tariffs on cars and automotive parts, as well as the so-called reciprocal tariffs. These countermeasures from the European Union (EU) will be adopted if the ongoing negotiations with the US administration fail. As mentioned in our last blog, the EU decided to pause for 90 days, until 14 July, the implementation of EU countermeasures on a list of US-origin products that could potentially be…
On 14 April 2025, the European Commission accepted Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/778 (link), which lays down (additional) retaliatory measures to counter balance those imposed by the US on EU steel and aluminum: At the same time, the European Commission adopted Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/786 (link), formalizing the 90-day suspension of retaliatory tariffs on imports of US-originating products listed in Annex I, II and III of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/778 (link) until 14 July 2025 (see…
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…
On 3 April 2025, the UK Government published a consultation on the impact of any future tariffs on UK imports from the US. The consultation followed an announcement by the UK Trade Secretary in Parliament that the UK Government is considering “every option” in response to US President Trump’s imposition of “Liberation Day” import tariffs on the UK of 10%. For further details regarding the announcement of these tariffs and the global impact, please see our blog…
At 4 PM EDT on April 2, 2025, President Trump announced his reciprocal tariffs on all imports into the United States. Importantly, goods from Canada and Mexico were excluded from additional duties. Other announced rates include: United Kingdom (10%), EU (20%), China (34%), Vietnam (46%), Taiwan (32%), South Africa (30%), Japan (24%), India (26%), South Korea (25%), and Brazil (10%). While the White House Fact Sheet and Executive Order have been released, official documents referenced…
Yesterday, following the adoption of Commission implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/664, the European Commission has extended the ongoing suspension of retaliatory tariffs until 14 April 2025. These tariffs were initially adopted in 2018 (Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/886) and 2020 (Implementing regulation – 2020/502 – EN – EUR-Lex) and were supposed to reapply and come into effect tomorrow. This decision was already announced by the EU trade commissioner during a hearing at the European Parliament on…