This blog post summarizes trade regulatory developments which occurred during the week of April 19-25, 2025. It is current up to 3:00 pm PT on Friday, April 25, 2025. Any developments occurring after that time will be covered in next week’s update. Please continue to check Husch Blackwell’s First 100 Days of Trade series for future trade regulatory updates occurring during the first 100 days’ of President Trump’s return to office.
CBP Implements New Duty Rates for De Minimis Shipments from China
On April 24, 2025, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a notice regarding changes to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) eliminating the Section 321 de minimis exemption for goods from China, which had previously permitted shipments valued at under $800 to be entered into the U.S. informally and duty-free.
The notice implemented Executive Order (“EO”) 14256 from April 2, 2025, which eliminated the de minimis exemption for products of China (including Hong Kong) and established new duty rates for international postal packages from these locations. We covered this notice in more detail in this blog post.
New Executive Order: Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness
On April 17, 2025, President Donald Trump signed a new Executive Order (“EO”) building upon a previous EO, Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth, which was issued by his prior administration on May 7, 2020. The new EO directs the Secretary of Commerce, the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”), and the Interagency Seafood Trade Task Force to assess seafood competitiveness issues and jointly develop a comprehensive seafood trade strategy. We covered this announcement in this blog post.
Trump Administration Initiates New Section 232 Probe on Medium and Heavy-Duty Trucks and Truck Parts
On April 23, 2025, the Trump Administration issued a pre-publication federal register notice scheduled to be published on April 25, 2025. The notice seeks public comments following the April 22, 2025, initiation of an investigation targeting imports of medium-duty trucks, heavy-duty trucks, and medium- and heavy-duty truck parts, and their derivative products pursuant to Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. We covered this notice in this blog post.
[View source.]
