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.
The State Department this week sanctioned multiple entities and ships moving Iranian petroleum products and petrochemical products, including four sellers and one buyer of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Iranian energy.
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.
The Bureau of Industry and Security's recent rules that expanded foreign direct product rule restrictions over chip equipment (see 2412020016) and set new foundry due diligence rules (see 2501150040) are already hurting U.S. companies, the U.S.-China Business Council said, including by incentivizing foreign firms to design U.S.-origin goods out of their chip supply chains.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is planning a phased-in approach to assessing fees on foreign-built vessels calling at U.S. ports, according to an April 17 announcement unveiling the results of its year-long Section 301 investigation.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., introduced a bill April 8 that would establish that Chinese companies sanctioned under one U.S. authority be automatically sanctioned under all other authorities.
Sens. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., and Mark Warner, D-Va., introduced a bill April 10 aimed at preventing the smuggling of U.S. artificial intelligence chips into China.
China is raising tariff levels to 125% for U.S. origin goods in response to President Donald Trump's April 9 decision to raise tariffs to the same rate for Chinese goods (see 2504090043).
China raised the tariff rate on U.S.-origin goods, from 34% to 84%, in response to President Donald Trump's April 8 executive order raising reciprocal rates by 50% (see 2504080079), the Office of the Tariff Commission of the State Council announced April 9. The new tariffs will take effect at 12:01 a.m. April 10, the commission said, according to an unofficial translation.
The Trump administration is extending for the second time the deadline China’s ByteDance faces to comply with a 2024 law that requires the company to divest TikTok or face a U.S. ban on the social media application, President Donald Trump announced April 4.