Tag: trump

Reciprocal Tariffs; April 9 Update

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on April 9, 2025

President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs went into effect on April 5 at the rate of 10%, and increased for many countries to country-specific rates on April 9th at 12:01am. See Reciprocal Tariffs; Day Zero for details.

What reciprocal tariff rate applies to China?

On April 8th, President Trump increased the reciprocal rate on China from 34% to 84% (a 50% increase) [source]. On April 9, on Truth Social, Trump announced an increase “up to 125%” on China:

Presumably, this is an increase from 84% to %125 (or a 41% increase), on the reciprocal tariff only, but it is uncertain at the moment due to lack of the text of an executive order.

APRIL 10 UPDATE:

Executive Order – MODIFYING RECIPROCAL TARIFF RATES TO REFLECT TRADING PARTNER RETALIATION AND ALIGNMENT

The order is effective midnight, April 10, 2025, meaning it is currently in effect.

What reciprocal tariff rate applies to other countries?

For all other countries subject to a country-specific rate above the 10% baseline reciprocal tariff, Trump “paused” implementation for 90 days (July 9, 2025). This leaves a 10% tariff in effect for most countries, in addition to any existing tariff or duties that otherwise apply, including any tariffs on steel, aluminum, automobiles, automobile parts, AD/CVD, etc, etc.

Tariff questions?

Do you have questions about the tariffs? We have answers for you. Great Lakes Customs Law has been advising importers for more than 15 years. Call us at (734) 855-4999 or fill out the form below:

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Last updated: April 10, 2025 at 11:06 am

President Trump signs proclamation imposing tariffs on imported steel and aluminum

Trump’s Tariffs: Predictions and Strategy

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on December 14, 2024

Heads up to importers and those who only follow the blog feed, please check out the page we recently added called Trump Tariff Strategy: When and How Duties Can Be Imposed.

There, I discuss what we can predict about Trump’s new tariff plans going forward (spoiler: we can predict there will be tariffs, but that’s about it), how long the tariffs will last (spoiler: it’s going to feel permanent even if it’s not), and an overview of the many different legal mechanisms he can use to impose tariffs (spoiler: we might not onlt be talking about “Section 301” and “Section 232” tariffs, but also “Section 122 Tariffs”, “Section 201 Tariffs”, “Section 338 Tariffs”, ‘section 1702 Tariffs”, and “Section 404 Tariffs”.

And, we also talk about some business decisions, classification, and valuation issues that could take some of the bite of out of the tariffs.

Need help navigating the Trump Tariffs?

Great Lakes Customs Law was established in 2010 as a law firm for importers. We have helped hundreds of clients in the last 15 years avoid and lower tariffs. Contact us at our Michigan office at 734-855-4999 or call our Chicago office at 773-920-1840.

USMCA; United States Mexico Canada Agreement

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on October 1, 2018

The re-negotiation (and renaming) of NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) is one step closer to completion, and will go forward to be finalized by the governments of the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

The newly renamed agreement is the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMC Agreement), and the full text of the agreement is now available. The United States Trade Representative’s office has posted a series of fact sheet with key points of the new agreement.

The White House issued its own fact sheet: President Donald J. Trump Secures A Modern, Rebalanced Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico

President Trump held a news conference on the topic of the trade agreement. You can watch the conference by following this link on C-Span.

Exclusion requests for Sec 232 and 301 tariffs

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on June 18, 2018

Section 232 Tariffs: Steel, Aluminum, China

President Trump has announced new tariffs this year imposed on imports from various countries under two bases; first, he imposed a 25% steel tariff and 10% aluminum tariff under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. This section allows the President to impose tariffs for national security reasons. We have a more extensive analysis at our page Steel & Aluminum Tariff Exclusions (Section 232)

Second, President Trump announced Section 301 tariffs against China ranging from 10% to 25%. We have a more extensive analysis at our page Section 301 Tariff Exclusions (China).

To date, the fact that these tariffs might only end-up hurting domestic industries is getting a lot of attention (there is a lot of tariff activity). There seems to be little awareness or recognition — both amongst importers and the news community as a whole — that there is very large loophole in both new tariffs: exclusions.

Exclusion Requests

The section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum permit importers to request exclusions from certain products, on certain grounds. Initially, the official announcements and proclamations seemed to only permit exclusion requests on national security grounds, however, once the exclusion request form (steel) was published it seemed to permit exclusion requests to be filed for basically any reason (including insufficient U.S. availability, No U.S. Production, and “Other”).

Importers may be in a panic about the new tariffs; they should not. They should calmly consider requesting exclusions for the products so that the new tariffs will not apply to them, and they will not be required to pay the extra duties. Although the exclusion process can be done by anyone, as always, hiring an experienced attorney to advocate for the exclusion of the particular products will help to ensure the best result possible.

Want to discuss a possible section 232 exclusion?

If you’re interested in applying for an exclusion for section 232 or 301 tariffs, you can give us a call or complete the contact form below.