Shippers were whipsawed by the news cycle as the White House rolled out its America First Trade Policy, with Presidential actions caroming from Colombia to Canada and Mexico, finally settling on China. More fulsome in scope than previous actions, included are measures ensuring e-commerce heavyweights Temu, Shein and Amazon will no longer be able to take advantage of what House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith has described as a “free trade agreement with China.”
Tuesday February 4th the White House issued a National Security Memorandum (NSM) directing multiple federal agencies to impose maximum pressure on the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The memorandum outlines aggressive measures aimed at denying Iran all paths to a nuclear weapon, countering its regional influence, and disrupting its financial and military networks.
The Commerce Department, International Trade Administration (ITA) released their The Defense Export Handbook, a toolkit for U.S. defense exporters, particularly those who are new-to-market or new-to-export. This handbook provides an overview of U.S. defense trade policies, rules, regulations, and national laws governing the sale of U.S. defense products; tips to navigate these policies and processes that help carry out defense trade opportunities; and general things to consider as a U.S. exporter when evaluating international markets.
January 27, Canada announced it is imposing new sanctions against 10 individuals and 12 entities under the Special Economic Measures (Belarus) Regulations in response to ongoing gross and systematic human rights violations committed by the Lukashenko regime in Belarus, as well as its support of Russia’s violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. These sanctions are being announced in coordination with the United Kingdom. Customarily, such announcements are coordinated with US sanctions authorities in the Departments of State and Treasury., but action in Washington was lacking
Trump’s Tariff Man at Commerce, Howard Lutnick, is making no bones about the fact that he is a fan of President Trump’s idea of across-the-board tariffs on all countries. At a hearing on his nomination before the Senate Commerce Committee last week, several senator expressed a preference for targeted tariffs. But the nominee for Commerce Secretary, said across-the-board tariffs are the way to get “reciprocity, respect and fairness” from other countries. The 25 percent tariff hike that President Trump says he plans to impose on Canada and Mexico on February 1 is not really a tariff “per se,” Mr. Lutnick said, but rather it’s about “creating action.”
After a false start with Colombia last weekend, the Trump Tariff War of 2025 has officially begun, with new levies on imports from the top US trading partners, accounting for 40% of the goods imported into the US last year, Friday, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters duties of 25% on Canadian and Mexican goods and 10% on Chinese roods would be published on Saturday and would take effect immediately. The president also said he planned "absolutely" to impose tariffs on the European Union in the future, saying the bloc had not treated the US well.
The change in Administration has not translated into a change in position when it comes to the World Trade Organization’s Appellate Body.. The United States, for the 83rd time, rejected a proposal to start the selection process for filling vacancies on the long moribund AB at yesterday’s meeting of the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body. President Trump so far has been largely silent on his views about the WTO. The long-standing US argument is that the AB routinely overstepped its jurisdiction, often issuing reports that had the effect of creating new WTO rules, rather than simply adjudicating disputes.
The Justice Department Thursday announced its participation in a multinational operation involving actions in the United States, Romania, Australia, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Greece to disrupt and take down the infrastructure of the online cybercrime marketplaces known as Cracked and Nulled. The operation was announced in conjunction with Operation Talent, a multinational law enforcement operation supported by Europol to investigate Cracked and Nulled.
The Export Import Bank of the US (Exim) didn't miss a beat in the transition to a new Presidential administration, announcing interim leadership and confirming the Bank's 2025 Annual Conference will be held April 29 & 30 in Washington. Immediately following the President's inauguration, the first three senior members of the bank's “Beachhead Team” – David Slade, José Cunningham, and Bryce McFerran – were sworn as Senior Counselor and Senior Advisors, respectively. Board Member and former Alabama Congressman Spencer Bachus III, stepped in as Interim President and Chair of the EXIM Board of Directors. The President and Chair, First Vice President and Vice Chair, and another Director position are currently vacant, along with the US Trade Representative and Secretary of Commerce, who serve ex-officio.
House China hawks called for the National Security Advisor to review the potential national security benefits of placing export controls on semiconductor chips critical to the AI infrastructure of People's Republic of China (PRC) company, DeepSeek. As part of the review, the lawmakers also asked to strengthen controls on shipments through third countries that pose a high risk of diversion to the PRC. The lawmakers further requested that Mr. Waltz consider updating Federal Acquisition Regulations to prohibit the federal government from acquiring AI systems based on PRC models such as DeepSeek, except for appropriate intelligence and research purposes.
The opening salvo of the Administration's trade war turned out not to be against Canada, Mexico or European allies, rather a temporary cancellation of Valentine's Day in retaliation for a perceived snub by the President of Colombia. Sunday, President Trump announced 25 percent tariffs on all Colombian products after Colombian President Gustavo Petro turned away two US military aircraft carrying migrants being sent back to Colombia as part of Mr. Trump’s immigration crackdown. After Mr. Petro provided his presidential aircraft for a "dignified" repatriation, Mr. Trump backed down.
In one of his first official acts, President Trump issued a memorandum effectively withdrawing the United States from the global corporate minimum tax deal negotiated through the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The 15 percent minimum tax, agreed upon in 2021, had not been implemented in U.S. law.
President Trump is threatening Russia with taxes, tariffs and sanctions if Russian President Putin does not come to the table to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine. On the campaign trail, Mr. Trump said he would end the war in his first day in office, though Russian President Putin has shown little interest in negotiating a cease fire.
WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala invited world leaders, government officials, and businesspeople to “just chill” and “take a deep breath” amid rising trade policy uncertainties during her participation in the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland last week. “We've done simulations that show that fragmenting into two geopolitical trading blocs and adding trade policy uncertainty may lead to a real loss in global GDP in the longer term of 6.4%. This is like losing the economy of Japan and Korea combined.”
The State Department released an update on the prior year's arms trade, with Foreign Military Sales at their highest levels in history and Direct Commercial Sales up smartly from the prior period. In FY2024 the total value of transferred defense articles and services and security cooperation activities conducted under the Foreign Military Sales system was $117.9 billion. This represents a 45.7% increase, up from $80.9 billion in FY2023.
Canada and Mexico have voiced strong opposition to the Trump administration’s potential tariff measures, calling for dialogue and cooperation to preserve the economic ties that underpin North American trade. This follows comments by former U.S. President Donald Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he suggested steep tariffs and criticized trade imbalances with Canada and Mexico.
President Donald Trump, in his first international address of his second term, addressed delegates at the 2025 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Pledging a “revolution of common sense,” he vowed to “solve every single crisis facing our country.”
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office invites public comments and testimony on whether the U.S. should sign and implement the Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources, and Associated Traditional Knowledge. The treaty addresses IP issues concerning genetic resources (GRs), traditional knowledge (TK), and traditional cultural expressions (TCEs). Article 3 mandates patent applicants disclose the origin or source of GRs or TK when a claimed invention depends on their specific properties.
A bipartisan group of China hawks are making the first push in the new Congress to take away China’s permanent normal trade relations status. Restoring Trade Fairness Act, the first bipartisan bill that would revoke China’s Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR). This comes following President Trump's new executive order, directing the Secretary of Commerce and the United States Trade Representative to assess legislative proposals regarding Permanent Normal Trade Relations with the People's Republic of China.
Monday the Office of the United States Trade Representative released its 2024 Report to Congress on China’s WTO Compliance, an assessment of the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC’s) membership in the World Trade Organization. “China continues to represent the biggest challenge to the international trading system. After 23 years of membership in the World Trade Organization, China still embraces a state-directed, non-market approach to the economy and trade, which runs counter to the norms and principles embodied in the WTO,” said Ambassador Katherine Tai.
