February 9-13, 2026 —
Cassidy and Whitehouse Introduce Legislation to End First Sale Rule
A bipartisan pair of senators is introduced legislation that could increase tariff payments on imported goods by requiring U.S. Customs and Border Protection to calculate duties based on the final price paid by U.S. buyers, rather than a sale earlier in the supply chain.
The so-called Last Sale Valuation Act, introduced by Senate Finance Committee members Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), would change the way imported goods are valued under the Tariff Act of 1930, by requiring duties be assessed on the last sale before export to the United States.
Currently, if a manufacturer sells apparel to a foreign intermediary at a low price and that intermediary resells it to a U.S. retailer at a higher price, tariffs could be assessed on the initial transaction — effectively excluding the middleman’s markup from the duty calculation.
The Cassidy-Whitehouse bill would instead require Customs to base tariffs on the final sale before export to the United States, meaning the actual price paid by the U.S. importer.
Cassidy’s statement on the bill also includes a supportive statement from White House senior counselor for trade and manufacturing Peter Navarro, who called on Senate and House leadership to advance the legislation.
Trade associations representing the textile industry also voiced support for the legislation, including the Rhode Island Textile Innovation Network, which represents regional manufacturers and workforce groups and the National Council of Textile Organizations, the leading trade association for the U.S. textile industry. Rethink Trade, a progressive advocacy group, also backs the legislation; as does the Coalition for a Prosperous America, a group that generally backs Trump’s protectionist approach to trade and tariffs.
House Votes on Resolution Disapproving Canadian Tariffs
House Democrats forced a vote on President Donald Trump’s Canada tariffs. Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) introduced the resolution last March, but House Republican leaders blocked a vote on the measure and any others disapproving of Trump’s emergency powers to impose tariffs. That block expired in January, after a group of Republicans pushed leadership to allow tariff votes.
The Senate has voted twice to block Trump from imposing tariffs on Canada, first in April and then again in October. Four Republican Senators voted with the Democrats each time: Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
The votes are largely symbolic — even if Congress disapproves of Trump’s national emergency, the president is likely to veto it, and it would require a two-thirds vote from both chambers to overturn his veto.
EU Trade Committee Moves Forward US-EU Trade Deal
The European Parliament’s top trade lawmakers agreed to a common position on the EU-U.S. trade deal. The agreement centers on the removal of tariffs on U.S. industrial goods and lobster. It was resolved after the top trade lawmakers ironed out a specific safeguard to address the risk that Trump turns hostile again after his threats last month to annex Greenland.
Among the difficult items, lawmakers settled on a sunset clause that would effectively put an expiry date of March 2028 on the trade deal. A suspension clause that would void the deal were Trump to threaten Europe’s territorial integrity again was already agreed to.
The trade committee is now expected to vote on the position on Feb. 24. After a plenary vote confirming the agreement, EU institutions would then enter negotiations before the bill can become law.
CBP Issues Notice on Electronic Export Manifest for Vessel Cargo
CBP is proposing to require that exporters submit electronic export manifests (EEM) for cargo leaving the U.S. via vessel, claiming that “requiring advance transmission of EEM data would significantly improve cargo safety and security while minimizing disruption to the flow of commerce for exports in the sea environment,” according to a Federal Register notice. CBP will accept public comments on the proposed plan through April 13.
US-Bangladesh Reach Trade Deal
President Donald Trump on Monday struck a trade deal with Bangladesh that will lower U.S. tariffs on the country’s goods by 1 percentage point and offer a new apparel carve-out.
In exchange, Bangladesh committed to provide preferential market access for a broad range of U.S. industrial and agricultural products, including chemicals, medical devices, motor vehicles and other machinery, energy products and farm goods, according to the text of the framework deal released by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
The Trump administration said it would also set up a process that could eliminate tariffs on select Bangladeshi apparel and textile shipments that incorporate U.S.-produced cotton and man-made fibers. The countries have not yet ironed out how broadly that relief would apply.
U.S. Ends 25% India Tariff
The U.S. will ends the 25% tariff imposed on India for its purchases of Russian oil. President Trump issues an executive order last week. US-India offered a joint statement on the deal.
Effective on Feb. 7, Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheadings 9903.01.84 through 9903.01.89 “are hereby terminated,” the order said. “To the extent that implementation of this order requires a refund of duties collected, refunds shall be processed pursuant to applicable law and the standard procedures of U.S. Customs and Border Protection for such refunds.”
The order directs the Commerce Department to “monitor whether India resumes directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil,” and contemplates reimposing the 25% tariff on India if Russian oil imports resume.
Trump Gives State Department Power to Impose Iranian Tariffs
President Donald Trump gave his administration the power to raise tariffs on countries that buy goods or services from Iran — a veiled threat at China, the largest purchaser of Iranian oil.
The order, however, does not impose new tariffs, instead telling the Commerce Department to conduct an investigation to determine any countries making purchases from Iran. Based on that investigation, the order leaves it up to the State Department to determine whether it’s appropriate to raise tariffs on any given country.
USTR Voices Concerns with Canadian Trade Postures
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on accused Canada of pursuing policies that make it difficult to begin a mandatory review this year of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, especially compared with Mexico’s “quite pragmatic” approach.
However, he also indicated that concerns President Donald Trump raised Monday about a new bridge between Michigan and Ontario would proceed on a separate track.
“With the Canadians, it’s more challenging,” Greer said in an interview with Fox Business Network. “They continue to have certain barriers. They refuse to sell U.S. wine and spirits on their shelves. There are a variety of issues that they have not addressed and they aren’t addressing, and this makes it a big challenge and an obstacle for starting real negotiations with them.”
Trump and XI Set to Meet in April
President Donald Trump will travel to Beijing the first week of April for a long-anticipated summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, according to three people familiar with the president’s plans, granted anonymity to discuss them.
Trump had committed to visiting China in April, following a meeting with Xi in South Korea last fall, but the White House has yet to announce the exact dates.
The White House and the Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the dates of the trip.
Administration Weighs in on New Secure Revenue Channel Bill
Peter Navarro, White House Manufacturing Advisor, posted a video Feb. 5 on social media complaining about a bipartisan bill introduced in the House that would allow a de-minimis-like channel for low-value packages imported by express carriers.
The bill, introduced last month, would seek to create a secure revenue channel, allowing importers to pay 20% of the value of packages worth up to $600, rather than the most-favored nation and reciprocal tariffs, and the payments could be made quarterly, rather than shortly after entry; they could also choose to pay the duties owed, but still would get to pay quarterly.
Navarro said, “Congress is trying to sneak the de minimis loophole back through the side door.” He called it a “deep swamp scam that just won’t die.”
ITC Posts HTS Changes
The International Trade Commission posted the 2026 edition of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, implementing a variety of changes at the 10-digit level affecting fruits and vegetables, medicines and other products. The changes come as Revision 2 to the 2026 HTS, with the tariff changes that normally take effect at the beginning of the year delayed due to the federal shutdown in October and November of 2025. Changes were effective as of Feb. 1 unless otherwise noted.
BIS Ceases Work, Communication with Most Industry Advisory Committees
The Bureau of Industry and Security has effectively shut down its technical advisory committees without telling most members, quietly ending its involvement in most of the joint industry-government groups that it has used for years to solicit expert feedback on export controls, Export Compliance Daily reported.
New Chips Sales Bill Moves Forward
Republicans and Democratic lawmakers banded together during a House Foreign Affairs Committee markup last month to usher through a GOP-led proposal that would grant Congress more authority over AI chip sales to adversary nations and ban the sale of Nvidia’s Blackwell chips to China.
The AI OVERWATCH Act — led by the committee’s chair, Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.) — would require the White House to obtain congressional approval for advanced AI chip exports to China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Russia, along with any other “countries of concern.” The list originally included Venezuela as well, though it was removed after the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
US Seeks Permanent Moratorium on Digital Data Duties
The United States hopes to win a permanent extension of a 28-year-old moratorium on duties on digital data and goods at the World Trade Organization’s upcoming meeting in Cameroon, a top U.S. trade official said Wednesday.
“Another temporary extension doesn’t give businesses the type of certainty that we think is needed for their operations,” U.S. Ambassador to the World Trade Organization Joseph Barloon said during a virtual discussion hosted by the Washington International Trade Association.