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Customs

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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…

There is never a dull moment in the ongoing trade war. With effect of 12 March 2025, the US reinstated the June 2018 Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum products at a rate of 25% and extended these tariffs to a larger scope of steel and aluminum products (see our prior blog post on the US Section 232 tariffs here). On 12 March 2025, the EU announced countermeasures which shall protect European businesses and…

President Donald Trump confirmed on March 3, 2025, that the long-anticipated tariffs called for on Canada and Mexico would take effect, alongside additional tariffs against Chinese imports. The 25% tariffs against Canada and Mexico came into force on March 4, 2025, after a 30-day suspension of the measures, which had been paused pending negotiations between the countries. An additional 10% tariff has been imposed against Chinese imports, which will be applied on top of the…

The Ministry of Finance (MOF) has resumed drafting a decree on the customs procedure for e-commerce goods by releasing a new draft (“Draft Decree”) to govern various issues on cross-border e-commerce. These issues include customs declarants, risk management, data processing, import permit exemption, import duty, customs valuation and the customs procedure. The Draft Decree focuses on the following issues: Owners of websites and applications providing e-commerce services, transportation enterprises, customs brokerage agents, bonded warehouse business…

As reported in our earlier blog here, on Monday 10 February 2025, President Trump announced that 25% tariffs will be imposed on all steel and aluminum products imported into the United States (“US”), including from the EU and the UK which were previously subject to exclusions. These tariffs are due to come into effect on 12 March 2025. The key question now is how other jurisdictions such as the EU and the UK will retaliate. …

Following the latest of a number of tariff-related announcements, President Donald Trump has officially confirmed that 25 percent tariffs will be imposed on all steel and aluminium imports into the US beginning March 12, 2025. The tariffs will also be expanded to include derivative steel articles once the Department of Commerce has implemented “adequate systems” to collect the tariffs on such articles. These blanket tariffs will apply to all imports into the US, regardless of…

President Trump signed an executive order on February 7, 2025, temporarily suspending the prohibition against products from China being imported duty- and tax-free under the de minimis exemption for low-value imports. The executive order amends the February 1, 2025, executive order imposing 10% tariffs on all imports of Chinese-origin goods that became effective on February 4, 2025. This latest executive order follows significant confusion as the February 1, 2025, executive order went into effect, with…

In a recent U-turn, President Donald Trump has announced a 30-day pause on tariffs for Canada and Mexico, which were imposed via executive orders signed on February 1, 2025. President Trump had justified the imposition of the tariffs by stating that Canada and Mexico had failed to stem illegal immigration into the US, as well as prevent fentanyl from being imported into the country. Our update regarding the pause on U.S. tariffs to be imposed…

The Japanese government launched the webpage named “Bonded Portal” on the Customs website, dedicated to providing information on the bonded system. This portal includes procedural guidance for businesses seeking approval for bonded areas, as well as various information and materials, including the guidelines for the bonded warehouse permit applications. Additionally, this portal has the subpage for soliciting opinions from the public to understand the issues and needs related to the bonded system and its operation.…

On July 4, 2024, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) announced its compliance priorities for commercial imports and it updated its 2024 trade verification priorities. In the coming months, the CBSA will closely scrutinize the application of customs procedures and programs and the declared tariff classification, value, and origin of certain goods. An analysis of the July 2024 compliance and trade verification priorities is outlined below. Compliance Priorities Tariff rate quota and classification of supply…