| Customs & International Trade Law Blog

Here is a recap of the latest customs and international trade news:    

Administration

• The Administration’s reciprocal tariffs took effect on August 7. Goods from more than 60 countries now face additional tariffs between 10% and 41%.
• On August 6, President Trump signed an Executive Order imposing an additional 25% tariff on imports from India to take effect Aug. 27. This applies on top of the 25% reciprocal tariff.
• President Trump told reporters that the U.S. will be imposing a tariff of “approximately 100%” on chips and semiconductors.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

• CBP published additional guidance on reciprocal tariffs. The guidance covers additional information on what goods are exempt, reiterates which goods are subject to reciprocal tariffs, the reporting sequence for HTSUS numbers, and how CBP will process goods determined to be transshipped.  
• CBP released a Harmonized System Update on August 5 that contained 404 Automated Broker Interface records and 135 Harmonized Tariff Schedule records. 
• CBP published guidance on how brokers and importers should apply the new 40% duties on goods imported from Brazil.
• CBP, in partnership with the FDA, seized 54,843 counterfeit injectables and pills, valued at over $3.53 million.

Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)

• OFAC announced sanctions against a network of more than 50 entities and individuals, as well as more than 50 vessels, for transporting oil and petroleum products and other cargo from Iran and Russia to buyers around the world. 
• OFAC released a Quarterly Report of Licensing Activities as required under the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act (TSRA).

Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

• The FDA issued new tools for food traceability along with an FAQ document. The agency is also proposing to extend the compliance date for the new traceability records rule by 30 months.

U.S. Department of State

• The State Department published several Federal Register notices proposing to extend emergency import restrictions on archaeological and ethnological material from several countries, including Afghanistan, Colombia, Turkey, and Cameroon.

Federal Maritime Commission (FMC)

• The FMC has started publishing Containerized Freight Statistics (CFS) data as submitted by ocean common carriers, as required by the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022. The first published release covers January through March 2024

World Trade Organization (WTO)

• WTO released a new trade report showing services trade growth slowed in the first quarter of 2025 to 5% year over year, roughly half of the 2024 and 2023 growth rates.

Congress

• U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Mike Rounds sent a letter to the Commerce Department and State Department requesting that the Administration implement strong export controls for AI technology.

International 

• The European Union officially suspended the retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods that were set to take effect on Aug. 7 for six months.