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…
On April 17, 2025, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) issued a final notice of action in its investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 of China’s maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors for abusive and discriminatory practices associated with their sector dominance. In addition to introducing new fees and restrictions on Chinese-built, -owned, and -operated vessels, the notice of action also introduces new requirements on liquified natural gas (LNG) tankers and proposes…
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…
In briefThe US Department of Commerce (“Commerce”) has initiated a Section 232 national security investigation into the imports of pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients. This investigation aims to determine whether these imports threaten US national security. The scope of the investigation includes finished drug products, medical countermeasures, critical inputs such as active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), key starting materials, and derivative products of these items. Commerce may restrict imports of these products through tariffs, quotas, or other…
Following our previous post here, we provide an update on the current developments in this area. On April 2, 2025, the US administration announced reciprocal tariffs on all imports into the United States (see here). As it has been widely reported, pharmaceutical products were exempted from these tariffs whereas medical devices were not. Subsequently, on April 9, 2025, the administration announced a 90-day postponement of the reciprocal tariffs for most countries except for China. For…
Yesterday, President Trump announced a 90-day postponement of the individualized reciprocal tariffs for most countries (see our blog post on these tariffs here), with the notable exception of China. This decision comes amidst ongoing global trade tensions and aims to provide temporary relief to international trade partners. However, the baseline tariff of 10% for most countries worldwide, which took effect on April 5, 2025, remains in place without a specified end date. China had previously indicated…
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…
Trench Rossi Watanabe* is delighted to host an in-person conference: LATAM Trade Day: 100 Days of the Trump Administration – New Trends For International Trade. Along with the Brazilian team, the panels will feature guest speakers from Baker McKenzie from across the US, Europe, Asia and of course Latin America – including colleagues from Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, Peru, Chile and Venezuela. Our inaugural LATAM trade day will provide clients with insights into the latest geopolitical developments…
In the latest of a series of recent tariff developments, the White House has announced a temporary indefinite suspension of tariffs on certain goods from Canada and Mexico which comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) origin requirement, effective from 7 March 2025. The tariffs, initially imposed on 4 March 2025, included a 25% duty on Canadian and Mexican goods, with a reduced 10% rate for Canadian energy products. While several White House officials have…
Import tariffs have become the priority trade issue since President Donald Trump took office on January 20, 2025, with a wide variety of measures announced and imposed. These tariffs have the potential to disrupt all industries; however, they pose unique challenges for the life sciences industry, in particular the pharmaceutical and medtech industry, whose products have typically not been subject to customs duty on cross-border movements. We have set out below i) a summary of…