The White House has released a summary of the 24 reports submitted by federal agencies April 1 in response to a presidential directive seeking input on potential measures designed to help implement “a robust and reinvigorated trade policy.” These reports provide the following recommendations for “transformative action” that will “reshape U.S. trade relations by prioritizing economic and national security and restoring the ability to make America, once again, a nation of producers and builders.” However, the reports themselves do not appear to have been made public, and details of the specific recommendations have been omitted from the summary.
Tariffs. Asserting that the U.S.’ “large and persistent trade deficit … demonstrates a fundamental unfairness and lack of reciprocity in how the United States is treated by its trading partners,” the report makes recommendations for reducing that deficit, including by imposing a tariff on certain imports in pursuit of reciprocity and balanced trade. President Trump announced such tariffs on April 2 but eased them a few days later.
The president has also imposed tariffs on imports from China, Canada, and Mexico under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (click here for more information) to address the threat posed by the flow of illegal migrants and drugs into the U.S. Reports from the departments of Commerce and Homeland Security identified measures to further address these concerns.
De minimis. The summary declares it is “imperative” to end the de minimis exemption that allows duty-free entry for goods valued at $800 or less that are imported by one person on one day. This exemption “resulted in approximately $10.8 billion in foregone tariff revenue in 2024 alone,” the summary states, and “is a means by which fentanyl, counterfeit goods, and various deadly and high-risk products enter the United States with little scrutiny.” The Trump administration has announced plans to terminate de minimis eligibility for imports from China as of May 2 and is expected to do the same with imports from Canada and Mexico once the DOC determines that adequate systems are in place to process and collect tariffs on such imports. In the meantime, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has proposed two rules (see here and here for more information) that would restrict use of the de minimis exemption.
China. With respect to China, the summary notes that the reports:
- recommended potential responses to China’s lack of compliance with its Phase One trade agreement with the U.S. that took effect in February 2020;
- appear to have made no further recommendations for adjusting the Section 301 tariffs the U.S. has imposed on imports from China since 2018;
- identified additional Section 301 investigations on China that may be warranted;
- advised the president concerning legislative proposals related to permanent normal trade relations status for China given that it “still embraces a non-market economic system” more than two decades after being granted PNTR; and
- recommends “appropriate responsive actions to address China’s massive imbalance on treatment of intellectual property.”
External Revenue Service. The report recommends the creation of an ERS through a collaboration between the departments of Commerce, Homeland Security, and the Treasury, stating that a “centralized system to optimize revenue collection” will help maximize the collection of tariff revenue while deterring fraudulent and unfair trade practices. Little has been said by the administration about the potential creation of an ERS or how it would be different from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which currently collects tariff revenue.
Section 232 actions. The DOC identified products and sectors that merit consideration for new Section 232 investigations, including pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and certain critical minerals. The Trump administration has initiated, or plans to soon initiate, such investigations (see related article this issue), which the summary indicates are designed to promote national security by reshoring industrial production in key sectors.
The report also recommends additional measures that could be taken to follow Section 232 tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum.
USMCA. “Numerous changes are needed” to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the summary states, such as stronger rules of origin, expanded market access “especially for dairy exports to Canada,” and actions to address Mexico’s “discriminatory practices, such as in the energy sector.” USTR is required to initiate a review of the USMCA before July 2026 but there has been some talk about doing so before then, which might help resolve the tariffs the U.S. has imposed on Canada and Mexico this year.
Existing trade agreements. The summary notes that there is “significant scope” to modernize the U.S.’ 14 comprehensive trade agreements in force with 20 countries but does not specify a mechanism or timeframe for doing so. Changes that should be sought include lowering foreign tariffs on U.S. goods, improving transparency and predictability in foreign regulatory regimes, improving market access for U.S. agricultural products, strengthening rules of origin, and “improving the alignment of our trading partners with U.S. approaches to economic security and non-market policies and practices.”
New trade agreements. The report identifies countries and sectors that “may be ripe” for the negotiation of new trade agreements, but the summary does not list them. It does indicate that the goals of such agreements should include promoting supply chain resilience, reshoring manufacturing, and aligning on economic and national security with trade partners.
AD/CV. Recommendations include considering the addition of new countries to the list of non-market economies (which typically receive higher antidumping and countervailing duty rates), methodologies to better implement AD/CV laws, and more-active self-initiation of new AD/CV investigations. This could lead to an increase in the number of AD/CV orders, which have already risen significantly in recent years.
Non-reciprocal practices. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative identified more than 500 “unfair and non-reciprocal trade practices” (likely the same ones laid out in its annual trade barrier report) and “stakeholders reported many more during a public comment process,” from high tariffs to non-science-based standards to economic policies that suppress domestic consumption. The summary notes that USTR recommended “a number of ways in which current legal authorities might be used” to address these practices.
Export controls. The report calls for U.S. export controls to be simpler, stricter, and more effective, while promoting U.S. dominance in artificial intelligence and asserting global technological leadership, but the summary offers no details on how this might be done and how much of a priority it might be for the administration.
Extraterritorial taxes. Stating that the U.S. “must combat efforts by foreign governments to collect illegitimate revenue from U.S. firms by imposing various discriminatory taxes and regulatory regimes,” and naming digital services taxes in particular, the summary emphasizes the importance of having “the tools necessary to defend U.S. interests, including by providing technical assistance in furtherance of new legislative tools and further investigating identified taxes to determine the appropriate action.”
Outbound investment. According to the summary, the administration plans to evaluate whether the scope of U.S. restrictions on outbound investment should be expanded in response to developments in technology and the strategies of countries of concern. President Trump directed the tightening of those restrictions in March.
Government procurement. The report recommends that the U.S. modify or renegotiate the World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement and withdraw from it if such efforts are unsuccessful. Current market access under the GPA is “lopsided,” the summary states, and “some GPA partners open their procurement markets to third countries who are not parties, forcing U.S. suppliers to compete for the preferential market access they are entitled to under the agreement.”
Currency manipulation. The summary states that Treasury will strengthen its ongoing currency analysis and address the lack of transparency by foreign governments in currency markets. Treasury issues a semi-annual foreign exchange rate report on these issues that evaluates trading partners for current manipulation; details on the most recent such report can be found here.
E-commerce. USTR made recommendations to ensure that the temporary moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions among WTO members is made permanent. The summary asserts that allowing tariffs on data flows would destroy the Internet and harm the competitiveness of industry-leading U.S. companies.
Copyright © 2025 Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A.; WorldTrade Interactive, Inc. All rights reserved.