For many businesses involved in international trade, frequent news of changes in tariff rates has been a source of uncertainty. From a longer-term perspective, negotiations between major trading partners can be expected to provide more certainty on tariff treatment for specific industries and goods. In the meantime, with the administration's intensive focus on enforcement of new tariffs, it is especially important that importers take measures to limit exposure to costly consequences of non-compliance.
1. Intensified Focus on Enforcement. The Trump administration has emphasized its determination to detect and penalize circumvention through transshipment, product misclassification, and unwarranted origin declarations. An intensified focus on enforcement measures naturally results in more scrutiny of lawful efforts to minimize tariff liability.
Under the new tariff regime, therefore, it is important for importers to develop and upgrade compliance plans. A thoughtful compliance plan goes a long way to limiting exposure to penalties, which can be severe. With respect to classification and country-of-origin determinations, especially those that affect the rate of duty, legal opinion memoranda can be invaluable safeguards against penalties.
Following is an overview of some major developments affecting tariffs on products imported into the United States.
2. New Tariffs Pursuant to Reciprocal Trade and "America First" Policies
On April 2, 2025, President Trump announced an expansive array of new tariffs, to be levied on practically all imports to the United States from over sixty countries. The purpose of these tariffs is to redress non-reciprocal trading arrangements with each country. At a minimum, a 10 percent rate is generally applicable to all goods from all countries. For major trading partners, and many others, instead of the base-line 10 percent tariff, a special country-specific rate has been calculated. The rate of duty for each country is calibrated to rebalance trade by offsetting (in part) higher rates levied against U.S. goods, as well as the impact of non-monetary barriers.
The president and cabinet secretaries have emphasized that other countries may avoid increased tariffs on products they export to the United States by lowering tariffs levied against U.S. products exported to their home markets, and by eliminating non-tariff barriers to trade.
The White House has reported that over fifty countries, including India, Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam, have expressed a willingness to implement significant reductions in tariffs on U.S. products sold in their countries. The president of the E.U. has publicly proposed negotiating a zero-tariff free trade agreement between European countries and the United States.
In sum, the reciprocal trade agenda may in some cases result in not higher, but unchanged, or even lower tariffs. In any case, it is reasonable to expect modifications to the table of reciprocal trade tariffs, perhaps in the very near future.
3. Section 232 Tariffs on Autos and Auto Parts
On March 26, 2025, President Trump proclaimed a tariff 25 percent on all imports of automobiles and automobile parts. With respect to fully assembled automobiles, the effective date of the new tariffs was April 3, 2025. The effective date for tariffs on automobile parts will be announced no later than May 3, 2025. Imports of automobile parts that qualify for preferential treatment under the USCMA will not be subject to the tariffs until a procedure is established.
Pursuant to this action, the new 25 percent tariff are added to existing duties and will continue in effect indefinitely, unless “expressly reduced, modified, or terminated.”
Scope. The new tariffs apply to the automobiles and automobile parts listed in “Annex A” to the Proclamation.
The Department of Commerce will invite public comments requesting that additional automobile parts be included within the scope of the tariffs, and will establish a procedure for including additional parts within 90 days of the issuance of the Proclamation.
Special rules for USMCA imports. For imports of automobiles that qualify for preferential treatment under USMCA, and imports that include parts that originated in the United States, the 25 percent tariff will apply only to the value of non-U.S. content of the automobile. To qualify for a deduction of the value of U.S. content, importers of USMCA-certified automobiles must obtain approval from the administering agency.
4. New 25% Tariff on Imports From Countries Purchasing Oil from Venezuela
An Executive Order signed by President Trump on March 25, 2025 imposes a new 25 percent tariff on imports into the United States from any country that is found to be purchasing oil from Venezuela. The new tariff, to be added on top of existing tariffs, became effective on April 2, 2025.
The new 25 percent tariff applies to imports from countries that purchase oil either “directly from Venezuela or indirectly through third parties.” Pursuant to the EO, the question of whether a country buys Venezuelan oil is to be determined by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
5. Aluminum and steel
On February 10, 2025, President Trump announced new Section 232 tariffs of 25 percent on imports of steel and aluminum and derivative products (i.e., things made with steel or aluminum).
In the case of derivative products, whether an article is subject to the section 232 tariffs often depends on the relative steel or aluminum content, as set forth in the applicable tariff classification code under the HTSUS. CBP now requires importers of steel derivative and aluminum derivative articles to provide to U.S. Customs and Border Protection "any information necessary to identify the [steel or aluminum] content used in the manufacture of . . . derivative articles. . . ."
6. China
On March 3, 2025, the president signed an EO to increase tariffs on imports of goods originating in China by another 10% to 20% (in addition to the 25% rate under section 301 and the 10% levied on February 3, 2025).
In response, China has announced additional tariffs on certain agricultural products exported from the United States at rates as high as 15 percent. U.S. exports subject to new tariffs announced by China include chicken, wheat, corn, cotton, soybeans, sorghum, pork, beef, aquatic products, fruits, vegetables and dairy products.
7. Canada and Mexico
The 25 percent tariff on many imports from Canada and Mexico that went into effect on March 5, 2025, and the10 percent tariff on energy imports from Canada, have been largely delayed or mitigated following reported progress in the Trump administration's policy to curtail drug and human trafficking and other objectives,
Whether or not tariffs will be levied more permanently on imports from Canada and Mexico presumably depends on the outcome of negotiations on proposed revisions to the trade agreement (USMCA) and a multiplicity of other policy objectives of the respective countries. Additionally, the recommendations of the USTR and the interagency review of reciprocal trade arrangements may result in product-specific tariffs being increased, or lowered, with respect Mexican and Canadian goods.
