For more information on pursuing trade policy interests through the legislative process, please contact Nicole Bivens Collinson at (202) 730-4956 or via email.
Tariffs. On March 26 two senators asked Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to launch new Section 232 investigations into imports of heavy construction and agricultural equipment, including construction and mining equipment, forestry and logging equipment, heavy machinery, and their respective parts and derivative products. The letter asserted that major U.S. manufacturers “should not be allowed” to continue to send production of such goods to Mexico but made no substantive argument that imports of covered goods from Mexico threaten U.S. national security, which is the focus of Section 232.
In a March 27 letter, 19 Democratic senators asked U.S. Customs and Border Protection to redesign its proposed Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries system to automatically identify and issue refunds of IEEPA tariffs to all importers. As currently being developed CAPE “would require those seeking refunds to affirmatively ‘opt-in’ in order to get their money back,” the letter said, which “will disproportionately harm small businesses” that may not be aware of the CAPE requirements and may lack “the technical infrastructure, records retention systems, or staff expertise” to use the system. The letter asserted that CBP “already has the payment records it needs to issue refunds” in ACE and that imposing an additional requirement “seems designed to discourage and reduce the number of refunds.”
Exports. The Export Control Enforcement and Enhancement Act (H.R. 8169, introduced March 30 by Rep. Wagner, R-Mo.) would amend the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 to provide for expedited consideration (within 30 days) of proposals for additions to, removals from, or other modifications with respect to entities on the Entity List.
The Multilateral Alignment of Technology Controls on Hardware Act (H.R. 8170, introduced April 2 by Rep. Baumgartner, R-Wash.) would provide for export restrictions on certain semiconductor manufacturing equipment and components therefor. According to a press release from Baumgartner’s office, this bill would (1) prohibit the sale of the most essential SME to any destination inside a country of concern, (2) apply Entity List-like restrictions on exports, servicing, and technical support to all fabrication plants run by five designated Chinese companies of all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations, (3) establish deadlines for other countries to align their SME export controls with the U.S., and (4) expand U.S. jurisdiction over foreign-produced items that use U.S. software, technology, or components.
Copyright © 2026 Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A.; WorldTrade Interactive, Inc. All rights reserved.