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Tariffs imposed by President Trump this year under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act were struck down again on August 29 when the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a 7-4 decision upholding a Court of International Trade ruling. The Administration appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, and the tariffs continue to be assessed on subject imports while the litigation is ongoing.

The CAFC affirmed the CIT’s holding that the “reciprocal” and trafficking-related tariffs imposed this year under IEEPA are “unbounded in scope, amount, and duration” and therefore exceed the authority that law delegates to the president. The CAFC did not decide the broader issue of whether tariffs may be imposed under IEEPA at all; a federal district court ruled earlier this year that they may not, and one CAFC justice in the current case agreed. Even so, the majority opinion discussed this issue at length and appeared skeptical that the term “regulate” in IEEPA necessarily includes the power to impose tariffs, as the government argued.

The Supreme Court announced recently that it would hear oral arguments November 5, making it possible that the issue would be resolved by the end of the year. For more information, click here.

President Trump issued an executive order July 31 adjusting tariff rates on imports from all countries effective August 7. The executive order includes country-specific rates between 15 percent and 41 percent for dozens of trading partners, while countries not named will continue to be subject to a 10 percent rate.

Reciprocal tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, set at 10 percent for many countries but at 11 to 50 percent for others, were initially announced in an April 2 executive order. The higher tariffs were subsequently suspended until 12:01 am on August 1, while the 10 percent rate has remained in place for imports from virtually all countries. This action does not affect the reciprocal tariff on imports from China, which is set to remain at ten percent through November 10. For more information, click here.

More details on the U.S.-EU agreement were released in late September with some benefits retroactive to either August 1 or September 1.  Effective September 25, the IEEPA tariffs on hundreds of items from the EU including autos, and auto parts, unavailable natural resources (including cork), certain aircraft and aircraft parts and generic pharmaceuticals and their ingredients and chemical precursors were lowered or not applied.

For autos and auto parts, effective August 1, the IEEPA tariff rate on EU products will be either 15 percent ad valorem or exempt.  If the MFN rate is 15 percent or less, the IEEPA rate will vary based on the MFN rate so that the two combined will not exceed 15 percent. if the MFN rate is more than 15 percent there is NO IEEPA tariff applied but the MFN rate will prevail.  These products will also be exempt from the section 232 tariffs on copper and its derivatives, steel products and derivatives and aluminum and derivatives. Antidumping or countervailing duties will continue to apply. 

Effective September 1, the IEEPA reciprocal tariff will NOT apply to hundreds of other products, although for airplanes and parts and pharmaceuticals, the scope is limited.  For aircraft, only those products that meet the criteria of General note 6 of the HTS – i.e. those products under the Civil Aviation agreement and for pharmaceuticals, only those that are generic.  Other products exempt from the IEEPA reciprocal tariffs include essential oils used for religious purposes, critical minerals, rare earth elements, precious stones and diamonds, corks, and others.

The European Union as a whole is the largest export destination by far for Virginia companies both in 2024 and 2025. VEDP is hosting a trade mission to Romania and Poland on October 27-31. For more information on the potential trade deal, click here. For more information on the trade mission, click here.

President Trump issued an executive order on September 4 implementing a trade framework agreement with Japan that was announced in July. Under the EO, the U.S. will apply a baseline 15 percent tariff on nearly all imports from Japan, including automobiles and auto parts. If the applicable column 1 duty rate is less than 15 percent, the products will be subject to a 15 percent tariff; otherwise, the column 1 duty will be imposed and no additional duty will be assessed. The Department of Commerce may issue rules determining what are considered products of Japan subject to the baseline tariff.

This tariff treatment is retroactive to goods entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption on or after 12:01 a.m. EDT on August 7, 2025, and refunds of excess tariffs paid will be available. However, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has advised the trade community not to file post-summary corrections or protests until it issues instructions on how those requests for refunds should be submitted. Japan was the 8th largest export destination for Virginia goods in 2024, but it has dropped to the 10th largest export market in 2025. For more information, click here.

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced August 22 that Canada is removing most of its tariffs on imports of U.S. goods specifically covered under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement as of September 1. Canada will retain its tariffs on U.S. steel, aluminum, and automobiles, which at 25 percent are half of the 50 percent the U.S. assesses on such goods from Canada.

Carney noted that the U.S. recently “reaffirmed a core commitment” to the USMCA “by reinforcing that those Canadian exports to the United States that are compliant” with that agreement will not subject to U.S. import tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Canada therefore currently has “the best trade deal” with the U.S. of any of its other trading partners, Carney said, with an average U.S. tariff rate on Canadian goods of 5.6 percent (compared to nearly 16 percent for the world in general) and more than 85 percent of two-way trade now tariff-free. 

Among individual countries, Canada is by far the largest export destination for Virginia companies, importing more goods from Virginia than the next two closest trade partners combined. For more information, click here.

Following a decision by the Trump administration to establish a reciprocal tariff rate of 39 percent on covered imports from Switzerland effective August 7, Switzerland’s Federal Council announced that it would continue negotiations with the U.S. beyond the current joint statement proposal, in an effort to reach a bilateral trade deal. The Federal Council indicated that during this new phase Switzerland is ready to present a “more attractive offer, taking U.S. concerns into account and seeking to ease the current tariff situation.”

While many Swiss products, such as pharmaceuticals, are exempt from the reciprocal tariffs, the Federal Council noted that nearly 60 percent of total Swiss exports to the U.S. will be subject to the 39 percent reciprocal tariff from August 7, putting Switzerland at a “distinct disadvantage compared with other trading partners with similar economic profiles”, including the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Japan. The Federal Council also said that it is not currently considering any countermeasures against the U.S.

Switzerland is a relatively small market for Virginia exporters, but those that do export there should monitor for further developments as new tariffs may impact your goods. For more information, click here.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a notice setting forth the HTSUS modifications implementing an additional 25 percent tariff on imports from India. This additional tariff is being imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act on the grounds that India is currently directly or indirectly importing Russian oil and oil products. 

The new tariff will be effective for goods entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption on or after 12:01 a.m. EDT on August 27, except for goods that (1) were loaded onto a vessel at the port of loading and in transit on the final mode of transit prior to entry into the U.S. before that time and (2) are entered withdrawn from warehouse for consumption before 12:01 a.m. EDT on Sept. 17. This tariff will be in addition to (1) the IEEPA “reciprocal” tariff of 25 percent that took effect Aug. 7 and (2) any other applicable duties, fees, taxes, exactions, and charges. 

Also in August, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service stated that on August 19 India temporarily removed its 11 percent import duty on cotton until September 30. However, it is unclear whether this deadline applies to bills of entry filed before or until that date, or if it pertains to vessels arriving on that date. According to FAS, this measure aims to provide relief to India’s textile and apparel industry, which faces challenges from higher U.S. tariffs and rising domestic fiber costs. 

Virginia companies exported $2.7 million of HTS 52 (i.e. cotton, including yarn and woven fabrics) to India in 2024 and already $3.3 million in 2025, making India a top 5 export destination for these goods. For more information on U.S. tariffs, click here. For more information on India’s cotton tariffs, click here.

President Trump issued  an executive order July 30 imposing an additional 40 percent IEEPA tariff on imports from Brazil, bringing the total IEEPA tariff to 50 percent. The U.S. had already been imposing a 10 percent IEEPA “reciprocal” tariff on Brazilian based on a declared national emergency regarding U.S. trade deficits (even though the U.S. runs a trade surplus with Brazil), and that tariff will remain in place. However, there is an Annex that lists many products which will NOT be subject to the additional tariffs. 

The EO declares a new national emergency under IEEPA regarding the Brazilian government’s “unusual and extraordinary policies and actions harming U.S. companies, the free speech rights of U.S. persons, U.S. foreign policy, and the U.S. economy.” Specifically, the EO states that Brasilia’s “politically motivated persecution, intimidation, harassment, censorship, and prosecution of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and thousands of his supporters are serious human rights abuses that have undermined the rule of law in Brazil.”

It has been reported that Brazil is preparing countermeasures to retaliate if needed. For Virginia companies, Brazil was the 7th largest export destination in 2024 and has fallen this year to the 13th largest export destination. For more information, click here.

In an unexpected announcement August 15, the Bureau of Industry and Security imposed Section 232 tariffs of 50 percent on additional steel and aluminum derivative products classified under 407 HTSUS numbers (although when these base designations were implemented at the 10-digit level it covered more than 750 HTSUS numbers and thousands of products). This change took effect with respect to covered products entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption on or after 12:01 a.m. EDT on August 18.

A list of affected HTSUS numbers can be found here in the official BIS notice. BIS notes that the Section 232 tariffs will apply to the steel and aluminum content of these products and that the non-steel and non-aluminum content of such products will remain subject to “reciprocal” and other applicable tariffs. For more information, click here.

On September 24, the Administration initiated two new investigations: one on PPE, medical consumables, and medical equipment, including devices, and the other on robotics and industrial machinery.

The PPE investigation is very expansive and will include everything from face masks to scalpels to gauze and bandages to wheelchairs to insulin pumps, x-rays, and respirators. And lots in between. The robotics investigation includes robots and programmable computer-controlled mechanical systems, including machining tools, jigs and fixtures, laser cutting tools and many other products.

The Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking comments on these investigations by Friday, October 17. In addition, the BIS opened the window for companies to add more derivative products to the steel and aluminium tariffs on September 15–29 which will be followed by another two week comment period to rebut the original comments.

The International Trade Administration will open a two week window to submit petitions to add more products to the auto tariffs beginning on October 1.

President Trump issued a July 30 proclamation that will impose a universal 50 percent tariff on imports of semi-finished copper products (such as copper pipes, wires, rods, sheets, and tubes) and copper-intensive derivative products (such as pipe fittings, cables, connectors, and electrical components), effective with respect to goods entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption on or after 12:01 am EDT on August 1.

The copper tariff is the result of a Section 232 investigation into the national security impacts of copper imports that was completed in less than half the time allowed by law, perhaps setting a pattern for other Section 232 investigations currently underway. For more information, click here.

On September 30, the White House invoked Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to announce a bevy of new tariffs on imports, effective October 14, including the following rates:

• 10 percent tariff on softwood lumber.
• 25 percent on certain upholstered furniture, set to increase to 30 percent on January 1.
• 25 percent on kitchen cabinets and vanities, set to increase to 50 percent on January 1.

The U.S. has stated that certain trading partners – the UK, the EU, and Japan – will enjoy more favorable treatment and that other trading partners who negotiate with the United States may receive better treatment in the future. More information can be found here.

On social media channels, President Trump announced new tariffs for trucks and pharmaceuticals, under the Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. The social media posts stated that trucks would soon face a 25 percent tariff rate on October 1 and that branded or patented pharmaceutical products would face 100 percent tariffs unless the drug maker “is building” a manufacturing plant in the United States. The post also stated that the pharmaceutical tariffs would be phased in, eventually rising to 250 percent. 

As of September 30, the U.S. federal government has yet to publish detailed documentation on these tariffs, but Virginia importers should reach out to their VEDP representatives should they have any questions.

Effective October 1, the duty preference programs for Haitian apparel under the HELP and HOPE acts will expire as will the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).  These programs, established by Congress, waived the MFN duty rate for qualifying goods and products imported from these countries. Only another act of Congress can extend or renew these programs, and currently there is very little legislation moving in Congress. It is reported however, that a bill extending the programs for one year and making the benefits retroactive to October 1 has been drafted. It remains to be seen if Congress will act on it sooner, rather than later.

President Trump issued an executive order on July 30 that suspended commercial de minimis entries from all countries as of August 29. Trump said he is taking this action under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to prevent evasion of the “reciprocal” tariffs he imposed in response to a declared national emergency regarding U.S. trade deficits.

The de minimis exemption currently allows the informal, duty-free entry of articles that have a retail value of $800 or less and are imported by one person in one day. However, a White House fact sheet said this exemption “has been abused, with shippers sending illicit fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, precursors, and paraphernalia into the United States in reliance on the lower security measures applied to de minimis shipments.” De minimis shipments also account for the majority of all cargo enforcement actions, the fact sheet said, and the skyrocketing number of such shipments has resulted in “significant lost revenue” from import duties. For more information, click here.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has adjusted the following customs user fees for fiscal year 2026, which will be required as of October 1, 2025.

• Customs broker permit: $185.38 (up from $180.57)
• Express consignment carrier/centralized hub facility, per individual waybill/bill of lading: minimum $0.47 (up from $0.46) and maximum $1.34 (up from $1.31)
• Merchandise processing: minimum $33.58 (up from $32.71) and maximum $651.50 (up from $634.62)
• Surcharge for manual entry or release: $4.03 (up from $3.93)
• Informal entry or release not prepared by CBP personnel: $2.69 automated (up from $2.62) and $8.06 manual (up from $7.85)

Virginia companies engaged in international trade should monitor these changes to best prepare for 2026. For more information, click here.

The State Department has issued a final rule that, effective September 15, will make several amendments to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. These regulate the export, reexport, transfer, and temporary import of defense articles and services described on the U.S. Munitions List. Among the changes being made are the following.

• Removing lead-free birdshot ammunition, global navigation satellite systems anti-spoofing and anti-jam systems, and certain anti-jam antennas from the USML;
• Adding a new license exemption for certain activities related to unmanned underwater vehicles; and
• Clarifying specific entries on the USML 

Virginia companies can still sign up for the Association of the United States Army’s Annual Meeting from October 13-15 and Expodefensa 2025 from December 1-3. Contact your VEDP representative to learn more about these events. For more information, click here.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued an alert under the auspices of its Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program regarding illegal transshipping. The issue is an important one because the Trump administration has indicated that, under some of the preliminary trade agreements it has reached with several countries, U.S. imports of goods transshipped through those countries may be subject to an additional 40 percent tariff. Such a provision – widely seen as an attempt to prevent Chinese goods from circumventing higher tariffs when destined for the U.S. – has sparked discussion within the trade community about what “transshipped” means in this context.

According to the alert, transshipping is the process of transferring goods from one mode of transportation to another (often from one vessel or port to another) during their journey from origin to destination. While transshipping itself is legal and common in global trade logistics, “it becomes illegal when used deceptively to avoid duties, sanctions, or trade restrictions.”

Virginia companies that are engaged in international trade need to be aware of these red flags and best practices in order to stay in compliance with all current rules and regulations. For more information, click here.

The Census Bureau has issued a final rule that, effective September 15, makes changes to the Foreign Trade Regulations regarding in-transit shipments from foreign countries through the U.S. that are subsequently exported to a foreign destination.

For example, this rule expands who may be considered the U.S. principal party in interest when goods are entered into the U.S. for consumption or warehousing and then stored in a warehouse or storage facility, admitted into a foreign-trade zone, or entered into a bonded warehouse before being exported. When these movements occur prior to exportation, the USPPI may be a customs broker or an operator of the warehouse, storage facility, FTZ, or bonded warehouse. For more information on these changes, click here.

The Department of Homeland Security announced August 19 that it has substantially expanded the number of high-priority sectors for enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. This change is detailed in an updated strategy on preventing imports of goods from China made with forced labor.

The UFLPA establishes a rebuttable presumption that goods made wholly or in part in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region are made with forced labor and are therefore excluded from entry into the U.S. Even companies not importing directly from China may have goods detained if the materials used to produce those goods in a second country are tied at any level to the XUAR or specific entities or commodities associated with forced labor in China.

China remains the largest exporter to Virginia in 2025. Companies that are importing from China need to review these changes to ensure they are in compliance. For more information, click here.

The Department of Commerce has announced that, beginning January 1, 2026, it will prohibit imports of fish and fish products from 240 fisheries from 46 nations that have been denied comparability findings under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

The MMPA’s import provisions prohibit the import of fish or fish products from commercial fishing operations that result in the incidental mortality or serious injury of marine mammals (bycatch) in excess of U.S. standards. Fish and fish products from fisheries identified by the DOC in its list of foreign fisheries can only be imported into the U.S. if the harvesting nation has applied for and received a comparability finding.

The following nations have been denied comparability findings with respect to all of their fisheries: Benin, Grenada, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Namibia, New Caledonia, Russia, Saint Lucia, The Gambia, Togo, and Venezuela. For more information, click here.