Shippers were whipsawed by the news cycle as the White House rolled out its America First Trade Policy, with Presidential actions caroming from Colombia to Canada and Mexico, finally settling on China. More fulsome in scope than previous actions, included are measures ensuring e-commerce heavyweights Temu, Shein and Amazon will no longer be able to take advantage of what House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith has described as a “free trade agreement with China.”
Tuesday February 4th the White House issued a National Security Memorandum (NSM) directing multiple federal agencies to impose maximum pressure on the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The memorandum outlines aggressive measures aimed at denying Iran all paths to a nuclear weapon, countering its regional influence, and disrupting its financial and military networks.
The Commerce Department, International Trade Administration (ITA) released their The Defense Export Handbook, a toolkit for U.S. defense exporters, particularly those who are new-to-market or new-to-export. This handbook provides an overview of U.S. defense trade policies, rules, regulations, and national laws governing the sale of U.S. defense products; tips to navigate these policies and processes that help carry out defense trade opportunities; and general things to consider as a U.S. exporter when evaluating international markets.
Trump’s Tariff Man at Commerce, Howard Lutnick, is making no bones about the fact that he is a fan of President Trump’s idea of across-the-board tariffs on all countries. At a hearing on his nomination before the Senate Commerce Committee last week, several senator expressed a preference for targeted tariffs. But the nominee for Commerce Secretary, said across-the-board tariffs are the way to get “reciprocity, respect and fairness” from other countries. The 25 percent tariff hike that President Trump says he plans to impose on Canada and Mexico on February 1 is not really a tariff “per se,” Mr. Lutnick said, but rather it’s about “creating action.”
The opening salvo of the Administration's trade war turned out not to be against Canada, Mexico or European allies, rather a temporary cancellation of Valentine's Day in retaliation for a perceived snub by the President of Colombia. Sunday, President Trump announced 25 percent tariffs on all Colombian products after Colombian President Gustavo Petro turned away two US military aircraft carrying migrants being sent back to Colombia as part of Mr. Trump’s immigration crackdown. After Mr. Petro provided his presidential aircraft for a "dignified" repatriation, Mr. Trump backed down.
In one of his first official acts, President Trump issued a memorandum effectively withdrawing the United States from the global corporate minimum tax deal negotiated through the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The 15 percent minimum tax, agreed upon in 2021, had not been implemented in U.S. law.
In one of his first official acts, President Trump issued a memorandum effectively withdrawing the United States from the global corporate minimum tax deal negotiated through the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The 15 percent minimum tax, agreed upon in 2021, had not been implemented in U.S. law. February 4th UN member states launched separate negotiations on a global tax accord seeking to tackle in particular evasion by wealthy individuals and businesses, but the United States promptly quit the talks.
President Trump is threatening Russia with taxes, tariffs and sanctions if Russian President Putin does not come to the table to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine. On the campaign trail, Mr. Trump said he would end the war in his first day in office, though Russian President Putin has shown little interest in negotiating a cease fire.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office invites public comments and testimony on whether the U.S. should sign and implement the Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources, and Associated Traditional Knowledge. The treaty addresses IP issues concerning genetic resources (GRs), traditional knowledge (TK), and traditional cultural expressions (TCEs). Article 3 mandates patent applicants disclose the origin or source of GRs or TK when a claimed invention depends on their specific properties.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative announced Friday that it will review the Economic and Trade Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the People’s Republic of China to determine whether the PRC is acting in accordance with the commitments it made in the agreement. Signed January 15,2020 during the previous Trump Administration, the Phase One Economic and Trade Agreement between the United States and China introduced structural reforms in intellectual property, technology transfer, agriculture, financial services, and currency exchange.
The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) will hold the 2025 Update Conference on Export Controls and Policy from Tuesday, March 18 through Thursday, March 20 at the Washington Hilton hotel in Washington, D.C. This 37th annual conference will be offered in-person only, for two and a half days, with an evening reception. The registration fee will be $1,750. Sessions will include keynote speakers, plenaries, breakout sessions, and live Q&A with BIS and other agency experts. Specific details and agenda to come.
Among his Day One actions, President Trump rescinded 60 Executive Orders and eight Memoranda from the prior administration, instructing agency heads to "take immediate steps to end Federal implementation of unlawful and radical DEI ideology." Below some of the relevant Trade and Security Related Orders, followed by a link to the complete list.
His first day back at the Resolute desk, President Trump issued an executive order outlining the administration’s “America First” trade policy. The memorandum, addressed to senior officials across multiple federal agencies, sets a comprehensive agenda for addressing trade imbalances, unfair practices, and national security concerns tied to international commerce, with much of the review and reporting due April 1st, or ten weeks from the date of the Order.
Rep. Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, reintroduced two pivotal pieces of legislation aimed at reinforcing sanctions against Russian aggression and U.S. support for Ukraine's sovereignty and safety. The "Sanction Russian Nuclear Safety Violators Act of 2025" (H.R. 475) would: Target individuals and entities who endanger the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe's largest nuclear facility. Russian forces have occupied the site since 2022, raising grave concerns about the plant's stability and Rosatom's involvement. The January 15 sanctions package announced by OFAC included these measures. The "No Russian Tunnel to Crimea Act" (H.R. 476) would impose sanctions on any foreign actor who knowingly supports the construction, maintenance, or repair of tunnels or bridges connecting the Russian mainland to Crimea.
In a unanimous ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court Friday upheld a law requiring ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, to sell the app by January 19, 2025, citing national security concerns over data collection and links to China. If ByteDance fails to divest, service providers like Apple and Google must block TikTok updates, effectively disabling the app. TikTok currently has 170 million U.S. users, with a sale potentially valued at $40–$50 billion, according to CFRA Research.
It looks as though President Trump's Cabinet will be confirmed as nominated, with the exception of course of Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, currently the subject of disciplinary proceedings by the Florida Bar. Pam Bondi, Howard Lutnick and Scott Bessent appear to be tracking to confirmation, although Lutnick's confirmation paperwork is reportedly incomplete, creating a delay. During his Senate confirmation hearing, Sen. Marco Rubio, the President's nominee for Secretary of State, called for the continuation and potential expansion of sanctions, particularly targeting the energy sector, to pressure Moscow over its activities in Ukraine.
In cooperation with the Vatican, the Biden Administration made several meaningful diplomatic concessions in a negotiation for the release of political prisoners by the Havana regime. "We are taking several steps to support the Cuban people as part of an understanding with the Catholic Church under the leadership of Pope Francis and improve the livelihood of Cubans," said Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. Cuba has announced that it will release from prison 553 people “convicted of various crimes.
The U.S. Trade Representative has issued findings in the Section 301 investigation of the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) targeting the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors for dominance, concluding that the PRC’s targeted dominance in these sectors is unreasonable and burdens or restricts U.S. commerce, and is therefore “actionable” under Section 301. As the petitioner U.S. unions have highlighted, the entrenchment of the PRC’s dominance means that U.S. international trade is “carried out on vessels made in China, financed by state-owned Chinese institutions, owned by Chinese shipping companies, and reliant on a global maritime and logistics infrastructure increasingly dominated by China.”
CBP proposes to make merchandise that is subject to specified trade or national security actions (Section 301, Section 232, or Section 201 trade measures) ineligible for the $800 de minimis administrative exemption. They propose to require that certain shipments claiming this exemption provide the 10-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) classification of the merchandise.
Legislation to prohibit companies affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party from qualifying for green energy production tax credits implemented by the Biden administration through the Inflation Reduction Act has been reintroduced in the 119th Congress. If signed into law, the bill would prevent any company based in China, Russia, Iran or North Korea, and the subsidiaries of those companies from benefiting from these tax credits.