These new tariffs will remain in effect until the U.S. President determines that the conditions contributing to trade deficits have been satisfied, resolved, or mitigated.
On April 2, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order introducing sweeping new import tariffs as part of a broader trade policy initiative.
The order establishes additional duties on imported goods from trading partners across the globe and sets out detailed provisions for their implementation.
In addition to the tariff measures, the order officially declares a national emergency due to ongoing trade imbalances and concerns about the state of the U.S. manufacturing sector and defense-industrial base.
According to the White House, the U.S. trade deficit reached $1.2 trillion in 2024, an increase of more than 40% over the past five years.
The order frames these tariffs as a measure to address asymmetries in global trade practices, which include non-reciprocal tariff rates and non-tariff barriers imposed by foreign trading partners. According to the order, these conditions have contributed to the persistent U.S. trade deficit.
The trade imbalances also impact U.S. producers’ ability to export and, consequentially, their incentive to produce. This reduces the competitiveness of U.S. exports while artificially enhancing the competitiveness of foreign trading partners.
The new import duties will remain in effect until the President determines that the underlying conditions of the deficit have been satisfied, resolved, or mitigated.
Moreover, any previous presidential proclamations, executive orders, or trade directives inconsistent with this executive order will be amended, suspended, or terminated as necessary.
Trump’s new executive order introduces an additional 10% ad valorem duty on all imported goods from all trading partners—unless specifically exempted.
This baseline tariff will take effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on April 5, 2025. It will apply to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after that date.
Goods that have already been loaded onto a vessel and are in transit before this time will not be subject to additional duty.
Shortly after, higher, country-specific tariff rates will apply to imports from certain trading partners identified in Annex I of the order.
These tariffs will take effect at 12:01 a.m. EDT on April 9, 2025. They will apply to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after that date.
Goods that are already in transit before April 9, 2025, will be exempt from these specific country tariffs.
Additionally, the country-specific ad valorem duty rates shall apply to all articles imported under the terms of all existing U.S. trade agreements, except as provided below.
Several categories of goods will not be subject to the new import tariffs, as detailed in Annex II. These include:
The new tariffs will apply in addition to any other duties, fees, taxes, or charges imposed on imported articles, except as specified in the below section related to Canada and Mexico.
Additional duties have already been imposed on certain goods from Canada and Mexico under previous executive orders. These include:
However, the new import tariffs introduced in this order will not be applied in addition to the existing border emergency tariffs already imposed on certain goods from Canada and Mexico.
If those border emergency tariffs are terminated or suspended in the future, then this new executive order’s tariff system will automatically apply to Canadian and Mexican imports, as follows:
It is important to note that this 12% duty will not apply to energy products from Canada and Mexico, potash, or articles eligible for duty-free treatment under USMCA that are substantially finished in the United States.
The new import tariffs will apply only to the non-U.S. content of imported goods—provided that at least 20% of the product’s value is U.S.-originating.
The term “U.S. content” refers to the value of an article attributable to the components produced entirely, or substantially transformed in, the United States.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is authorized to require the collection of information and documentation necessary to verify the value of U.S. content and determine whether an article is substantially finished in the United States.
The executive order maintains duty-free treatment for low-value imports under specific provisions of U.S. law.
De minimis treatment under 19 U.S.C. 1321(a)(2)(A)-(B) will remain available for qualifying goods.
For imports under 19 U.S.C. 1321(a)(2)(C), duty-free treatment will continue until the Secretary of Commerce notifies the President that adequate systems are in place to fully and expeditiously process and collect duties.
Upon such notification, duty-free treatment may be withdrawn.
This measure does not affect the earlier executive order issued on April 2, 2025, regarding duties on low-value imports from China due to synthetic opioid supply chains.
Duties and fees under that order will continue to apply.
Additionally, to address risks of transshipment and tariff evasion, the new duties imposed on imports from China will also apply to goods imported from Hong Kong and Macau.
Future adjustments to the new import tariffs may be introduced if the measures under this latest executive order do not adequately address the national emergency.
Specifically, the President may increase or expand the duties if:
If foreign trading partners take measures to address non-reciprocal trade arrangements and align with the U.S. on economic and national security issues, the President may decrease or limit the scope of the additional duties.
To prepare for the new tariff policy, we strongly advise U.S. importers to:
At Cole International, we constantly monitor changing trade regulations and offer customs and compliance consulting services that are designed to help businesses navigate these changes.
Additionally, we provide timely and efficient customs brokerage services to help U.S. importers streamline their customs clearance and other import processes.
Please reach out to one of our trade professionals to discuss the new import tariffs, their impact on your operations, and how we can help.