October 2025

Another busy month in international trade news, here’s the full roundup: 

Administration 

• President Trump announced that he reached a 1-year agreement with China on rare earth supplies and will reduce fentanyl tariffs by half. 
• President Donald Trump signed trade deals with Cambodia and Malaysia. A tariff rate of 19% will remain on Cambodian and Malaysian goods, with some carve-outs. 
• President Trump delayed the 25% tariffs on medium and heavy-duty trucks to November 1, 2025. 

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 

• CBP published guidance on Section 232 tariffs on timber, lumber, and derivative products.  
• CBP will be moving forward with using HAP International’s TRACE ID program, following a successful technical assessment of the program’s shipment-level traceability data it provides.  
• CBP agriculture specialists at the Port of San Luis intercepted a pest identified as Osbornellus salsus; it was the first time this species has been identified in the United States. 

Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) 

• BIS posted 95 requests for the inclusion of new tariff subheadings under Section 232 tariffs on steel […]
  

Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

• CBP issued two rulings on duty-free classification under HTSUS heading 9817. In HQ H350718, CBP ruled that adjustable braces do not qualify for duty-free treatment. In HQ H349574, CBP ruled that components of a respiratory oxygen platform do qualify for duty-free treatment.
• CBP agriculture specialists at the Port of San Luis intercepted a pest identified as Osbornellus salsus; it was the first time this species has been identified in the United States.

Administration

• President Trump said that he expects to reach a trade agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping when they meet in South Korea next week that could range from soybean purchases to limits on nuclear weapons.
• Speaking to reporters, President Trump said that he intends to increase tariffs on Colombian goods on Oct. 21. 

Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)

• OFAC announced new sanctions targeting Russia’s two largest oil companies, citing Moscow’s “lack of serious commitment” to a peace process to end the war in Ukraine.
  

Court of International Trade (CIT)

• The CIT granted the government’s motion for default judgment against importer E-Dong, U.S.A., for negligently failing to pay […]
  

Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

• CBP published guidance on Section 232 tariffs on timber, lumber, and derivative products. 
• CBP will be moving forward with using HAP International’s TRACE ID program, following a successful technical assessment of the program’s shipment-level traceability data it provides. 
• During a conference call last week, a CBP official confirmed the agency cannot offer refunds or any payments that involve receiving a check during the government shutdown. 
• CBP published a Federal Register Notice amending the agency’s National Customs Automation Program (NCAP) test. Test participants must now pay supplemental duty bills for an underpayment of estimated duties via ACH.

Administration

• In a joint press conference, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration is in the process of drafting documents to increase tariffs on Chinese goods.
• The Administration and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca announced that they reached a deal that will delay Section 232 tariffs for three years.
• President Trump delayed the 25% tariffs on medium and heavy-duty trucks to November 1, 2025.

Court of International Trade (CIT)

• The CIT upheld […]