– Customs and International Trade Law Firm

Another busy month in international trade news – new tariffs, copper and timber investigations, WTO disputes and more. Here is a complete overview:

administrative

• On March 26, 2025, President Trump issued a declaration that a 25% tariff on cars and auto parts imported into the United States
• On March 24, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order that would allow the Secretary of State to impose a 25% tariff on countries importing oil from Venezuela.
• On March 2, President Trump issued an execution order that delayed the evacuation of De Minimis for Canada and Mexico.
• President Trump signed an executive order directing the Department of Commerce to investigate whether imports of wood, wooden cabinets, wooden furniture and paper pose a threat to Article 232 to national security.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

• CBP released its monthly update for February 2025. Highlights:
  • $2.9 million in taxes and fees were determined.
  • According to the suspected use of mandatory labor, 1,024 cargoes were stopped for further inspections.
  • 1,815 goods were seized, including counterfeit goods.
• CBP has issued import tariff guidelines on steel and steel derivatives imports.
• CBP has issued import tariff guidelines on imports of aluminum and aluminum derivatives.
• The CBP has released other tariff guidelines on imports from Canada and Mexico.

Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)

• OFAC has issued an alert to raise awareness of terrorist measures in international cartels, as well as risks of sanctions and criminal liability for U.S. and foreign financial institutions, and other risks of criminal liability for exposure to these cartels.
• OFAC announced that the agency is taking action against seven senior members of Ansarallah, commonly known as Houthis, who smuggled military-grade items and weapons systems to the Hotty-controlled area in Yemen.

U.S. Department of Commerce

• Commerce issued a Federal Gazette notice informing the trade community that it must pay 25% Section 232 tariffs on aluminium and steel products of 72nd (Iron), 73 (Iron), 73 (Iron) and 76 (Aluminum) (HTSUS).
• Commerce issued a federal bulletin notice requiring public investigations into copper imports of Section 232.
• Commerce issued a federal bulletin notice requiring the disclosure of a national security investigation into Article 232 of timber and timber imports.
• Commerce issued two federal registration notices (steel, aluminum) detailing the tariff sub-label for the extended Article 232 tariff.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

• The FDA has released a list of the Mandatory Registration of Cosmetic Facilities and the Modernization Act of Cosmetics Regulation (Mocra) (Mocra).

Department of Justice (DOJ)

• The United States filed a civil confiscation complaint against the aircraft used by Nicolás Maduro Moros, violating U.S. sanctions and export control laws.

US Trade Representative (USTR)

• USTR held a public hearing on March 11, 2025, involving Article 301 investigations regarding China’s behavior, policies and practices related to the dominance of the semiconductor industry.
• USTR released its 2025 Trade Policy Agenda and 2024 Annual Report. The report includes President Trump’s 2025 trade agenda, as well as a summary of the current USTR initiative, including law enforcement plans.

U.S. Treasury Department

• The Ministry of Finance announced that the agency will suspend the implementation of BOI requirements under the Company Transparency Act. The bill requires an estimated 30 million businesses to submit beneficial ownership information (BOI) to the Ministry of Finance.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

• President Trump fired two Democratic FTC commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter. The White House did not comment on the Gun.

World Trade Organization (WTO)

• Canada has requested WTO dispute consultations with the United States regarding new tariff measures taken by the United States on Canadian goods.
• China has submitted a revision request for dispute settlement consultation with the United States to resolve new tariff measures against Chinese goods.
• The WTO has launched WTO tariffs and trade data, an online platform that enhances access to official tariffs and trade data in more than 150 economies.

Industry News

• CMA CGM, the world’s third largest container transport company, announced $20 billion in U.S. investment over four years, expanded its most popular fleet, upgraded its ports and launched an air cargo hub in Chicago. This will create 10,000 jobs.
• Serina Baker-Hill, director of the CBP’s Center of Automotive and Aerospace Excellence and Detroit Center of Expertise, was charged with fraudulent FEMA, making false statements to federal agents and committing wire fraud.
• The BlackRock-led investment group will reportedly buy a majority stake in the port on both sides of the Panama Canal for $22.8 billion.
• Federal courts dismissed lawsuits against Kimberley-Clark and Ansel healthcare products that claim that the companies are interested in benefiting from forced labor.

International

• The EU said it plans to resume previous suspensions of tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum and introduce new countermeasures to U.S. exports.
• Effective on March 13, 2025, Canada imposes a 25% tariff on CAD 29.8 billion products imported from the United States

Congress

• Three senators have proposed a resolution that would end President Trump’s emergency declared on the northern border. If successful, the resolution will terminate the newly implemented tariffs on Canadian goods.
• Linda T. Sánchez, a member of the House’s Subcommittee on Ways and Means, introduced the Closing Ceremony, which will end the minimum treatment for Chinese packaging immediately after a four-month transition period and phase out de Minimis in all other countries.
• Senators Bill Cassidy and Catherine Cortez Masto introduced the Customs Promotion Act of 2025. The bill aims to create a truly single window for importers and to reduce data submissions of export lists in advance.

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