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. In a Feb. 4 letter to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Senate Finance Ranking Member Wyden, D-Ore., and Sen. Van Hollen, D-Md., raised concerns that the Trump administration “appears to have created a closed-door tariff exclusion process allowing relief” from tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act “largely for those with political connections.” They alleged that this process “has lacked transparency and procedural fairness for American stakeholders … and it has opened the door to corruption and economic harm.” They therefore asked the two officials to respond by March 4 to a series of related questions, including with respect to the criteria used to make exclusion determinations in the past and going forward.
H.R. 7276 (introduced Jan. 30 by Rep. Amodei, R-Nev.) would impose a 30 percent duty on sheep products and lamb products from Australia or New Zealand.
H.J.Res. 147 (introduced Feb. 2 by Rep. Meeks, D-N.Y.) would terminate the national emergency declared to impose tariffs on articles imported from Brazil.
Preference programs. President Trump signed into law Feb. 3 legislation reauthorizing the African Growth and Opportunity Act and the Haiti HELP and HOPE acts through Dec. 31, 2026, with retroactive effect to Sept. 30, 2025. A CVBP message states that retroactive duty refund requests are due by Aug. 2.
USMCA. The Senate Finance Committee will hold a public hearing Feb. 12 on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
Duty refunds. The China Trade Cheating Restitution Act (H.R. 7373, introduced Feb. 4 by Rep. Panetta, D-Calif.) would amend the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 to modify the description of interest for purposes of certain distributions of antidumping and countervailing duties and to authorize a special distribution of those amounts. Panetta said this bill is designed to ensure that U.S. Customs and Border Protection distributes the remaining AD duties to U.S. garlic, honey, and crawfish producers that weren't paid between 2000 and 2014.
Imports. More than a dozen senators wrote to USTR Greer and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Feb. 3 to express concern about “the massive volumes of illicit Chinese e-cigarettes flooding into the United States.” They called on the two officials to “use their respective enforcement and diplomatic authorities” to combat these imports, “whether tackling money laundering operations via FinCEN or negotiating directly with Chinese leaders to prevent future shipments.”
Labeling. S. 3788 (introduced Feb. 5 by Sen. Scott, R-Fla.) would require drug labeling to include original manufacturer and supply chain information.
Copyright © 2026 Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A.; WorldTrade Interactive, Inc. All rights reserved.