November 25, 2025—Top Stories:
Could Changes to AG tariffs Open the Door for More Exclusions?
After the Trump Administration eliminated duties on a slew of agricultural products that aren’t grown in the U.S., other industries are pushing for the same treatment.
According to one White House official, granted anonymity to discuss internal strategy, the administration’s new tariff cuts are entirely consistent with the president’s long-term trade agenda and do not signal a comprehensive move away from tariffs, particularly as a tool to rebuild manufacturing.
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett echoed that sentiment in an interview on CNBC . “This is nothing new,” Hassett said, calling the president’s executive order halting tariffs on foreign ag products “a blanket movement so that we weren’t going through each deal and picking this and that.”
What Hassett didn’t acknowledge, however, is that the tariff carve outs apply worldwide, regardless of whether a country has negotiated a trade deal with Trump. That includes zeroing out duties, for example, on coffee from Brazil and spices from India, which were both hit with 50 percent duties this summer as punishment for foreign policy disagreements that continue to fester.
The Trump administration has also held back on tariffs it initially promised to roll out by autumn on non-food products, such as semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, citing agreements on lowering prices and reshoring manufacturing.
It raises the question of just how firm a red line the White House is drawing on its tariff policies, which officials say are focused on manufactured goods that are core to its vision of America’s industrial revival.
EU Says No Tariff Deal Expected During US Officials’ First Visit
The European Union said no deal was expected this week to lower tariffs on steel and other products during talks with senior US trade officials. “Today it’s not about negotiations, it’s about the stock-taking exercise,” EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic told reporters before the bloc’s trade ministers met with senior US officials. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are in Brussels for the first time since the EU and US reached a trade agreement in July.
The deal set a 15% US tariff on many EU goods, while the EU pledged to erase tariffs on US industrial products as well as some agriculture and food items. The two sides also vowed to keep working to lower other tariffs, including a 50% levy on EU steel and aluminum, which the bloc has now matched with its own 50% tariff on steel imports above a certain quota. Lutnick and Greer will discuss the pact over lunch with EU trade ministers.
The European Commission is set to present a list of sectors that it wants to be exempted from U.S. tariffs. The list — expected to include medical devices, wines, spirits and beers, and pasta — was finalized Friday at the technical level by EU countries, one of the diplomats said.
These sensitive export sectors were not covered under the trade deal struck in July by U.S. President Donald Trump and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at his Turnberry golf resort in Scotland. The deal, poured into a joint statement the following month, exempted some items like aircraft and generic drugs but imposed a 15 percent tariff on most other European exports.
Senior U.S. officials have grown increasingly frustrated with the slow pace of the deal’s implementation, since it still awaits approval from the European Parliament. “The good news is the Europeans, they’ve started their legislation. Like us, they have a process,” Greer said on Fox News. The bloc has yet to follow through on its promise to cut tariffs on U.S. industrial goods and certain agricultural products, Greer pointed out. He added that the EU sends the U.S. “$240 billion worth of goods, more per year than we do, and there’s a lack of reciprocity, and that’s what the deal is supposed to fix.”
Please join AAEI and the European Shippers Council on December 16 to keep up to date on developments regarding the EU-UA Trade Deal. Registration link here.
EU Defends Carbon Tariff Scheme
The European Union is under pressure to defend its new carbon tariff scheme as long-simmering diplomatic frictions over the upcoming levy reached a boiling point at the COP30 Conference in Belém, with some developing countries pushing to effectively condemn the EU’s green trade measures as protectionist.
Trade took center stage at the conference, alongside traditional sticking points such as finance. Countries are fretting over the carbon levy’s looming enforcement on Jan. 1 — together with other new EU policies seeking to combat global deforestation or methane pollution, as well as tariffs on climate-relevant products such as Chinese electric vehicles.
The EU maintains that the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is a climate measure, not a trade tool. To balance these competition concerns, the EU’s CBAM will gradually impose a fee on certain goods from countries where companies don’t face similar carbon costs, starting on Jan. 1 next year. But the EU also sees CBAM as a tool to press other countries to set up carbon prices.
The Like-Minded Developing Countries, a negotiating bloc that includes India and China, as well as the Arab Group led by Saudi Arabia are using trade as a “tactical token” to gain leverage in the broader negotiations in Belém, said one European diplomat.
CBP Amends ACAS Regulations
To address ongoing aviation security threats, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is amending its regulations pertaining to the Air Cargo Advance Screening (ACAS) program to require the transmission of additional data elements.
Interested persons are invited to participate in this rulemaking by submitting written data, views, or arguments on all aspects of this interim final rule (IFR). CBP also invites comments that relate to the economic, environmental, or federalism effects that might result from this IFR. Comments that will provide the most assistance to CBP will reference a specific portion of the IFR, explain the reason for any recommended change, and include data, information, or authority that support such recommended change.
CBP will use the additional ACAS data to perform risk assessments prior to an aircraft’s departure to the U.S. as part of a broader effort to identify and prevent high-risk air cargo from being loaded onto a flight. The additional data includes elements such as additional contact information for the consignee and shipment packing location and/or scheduled shipment pickup location, among other elements.
The rule is effective Nov. 21, though CBP will “show restraint” in enforcing the new data requirements for 12 months after the effective date. According to press reports, the agency said that, during that period, it will take into account difficulties that inbound air carriers and other eligible ACAS filers may face in complying with the rule, so long as inbound air carriers and other eligible ACAS filers are making significant progress toward compliance and are making a good faith effort to comply with the rule to the extent of their current ability.
So Far, No Tariff Increase for Canada
President Donald Trump has yet to follow through on his threat to impose an additional 10 percent tariff on Canadian imports, four weeks after he halted “all trade negotiations” over an anti-tariff ad the province of Ontario ran during the Major League Baseball World Series.
To date, the Trump administration hasn’t sent any official documentation ordering U.S. Customs and Border Protection to enforce the new, higher duty, and U.S. importers have not received any new regulatory guidance.
The White House did not say whether it still plans to impose the tariff. But a separate U.S. official suggested the Trump administration had opted to hold off on additional duties — which would have sent tariffs on Canadian goods to 45 percent — and instead continue to dangle the threat as the two sides gear up for future talks.
According to Politico, American Ambassador Pete Hoekstra says trade talks with Canada will restart eventually — but warns “it’s not going to be easy.” Aaron Fowler, Canada’s chief trade negotiator, confirmed to a parliamentary committee this week that trade negotiations with Trump administration officials remain on hold.
Dutch Government Halts Seizure of Nexperia
The Dutch government halted its decision to seize control of the Netherlands-based, Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia. The Netherlands effectively took control of Nexperia at the end of September, after concerns that Dutch technological know-how was leaking to China, in a move that threatened relations between Beijing and The Hague.
Dutch Economy Minister Vincent Karremans said Wednesday that the controversial order, based on a 1952 law, will now be suspended. He cited diplomatic progress with China, in ensuring the supply of chips to Europe. Even Nexperia chips manufactured in Europe are rerouted to China for packaging. “We are positive about the measures already taken by the Chinese authorities to ensure the supply of chips to Europe and the rest of the world,” Karremans said in a statement.
In parallel with the Netherlands taking control of Nexperia, both the U.S. and China imposed export controls on the company, disrupting the flow of critical chips to carmakers. The Chinese restrictions were aimed at Nexperia China, a key player in the company’s supply chain, while the U.S. extended earlier restrictions on Nexperia owner Wingtech to its subsidiary.
CBP Updates International Mail Guidance for Carriers and Qualified Parties
CBP issued additional guidance for duties on international mail in accordance with Executive Order 14324 that suspends duty-free de minimis treatment for all countries. Approved qualified parties listed here.
