KEY AGENCIES

Other Offices & Agencies

• President Trump signed Executive Order (EO), titled “Regulating Imports with a Reciprocal Tariff to Rectify Trade Practices that Contribute to Large and Persistent Annual United States Goods Trade Deficit.” The EO imposes a 10 percent blanket tariff on all imports, beginning on April 5. The blanket tariff will increase to a higher percentage that varies by country on April 9. The country-specific ad valorem duty rates can be viewed here. The EO exempts certain goods from the tariffs that are not available in the U.S., including certain copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, lumber articles, critical minerals, and energy products. The duties will be applied until the administration determines that the underlying conditions causing the national emergency are satisfied, resolved, or mitigated. The tariffs imposed by this EO are in addition to any other duties, fees, taxes, exactions, or charges applicable to such imported articles. Canada and Mexico were excluded from the blanket 10 percent and country-specific tariffs previous mentioned. Under the EO, goods that comply with the USMCA may continue to enter the U.S. market under the preferential terms. Non-compliant goods will continue to be subject to previously implemented 25 percent tariffs. If President Trump’s EOs regulating fentanyl and migration from Canada and Mexico are terminated, then goods that do not comply with the USMCA would be subject to a 12 percent tariff. USMCA-compliant goods would remain unaffected.
• NHTSA denied a petition from the Institute for Safer Trucking requesting that the agency investigate all van-type semitrailer collisions resulting in significant injuries or death due to a lack of side underride guards. The petitioner argued that the lack of side underride guards equates to a safety defect in the semitrailer’s design, construction, and performance. According to NHTSA, the issues raised by the petitioner are best addressed through other ongoing efforts at the agency, including the advance notice of proposed rulemaking on side underride guards (NHTSA is still reviewing comments) and the Advisory Committee on Underride Protection’s June 2024 final report that provided advice to USDOT. The denial of the petition does not prevent NHTSA from taking further action if a future determination is made that a safety-related defect exists based on additional information provided to the agency.