President Trump Threatens 200% Tariff on U.S. Imports of EU Alcohol Beverages

In response to the Trump administration’s 25% aluminum and steel tariffs, which were imposed March 12, the European Union responded by announcing that it would set 50% tariff on alcohol beverage imports from the U.S.

President Trump on his Truth Social platform announced this morning that he would counter with a 200% tariff on U.S. imports of EU wines, spirits, and other alcohol beverages.

“The European Union, one of the most hostile and abusive taxing and tariffing authorities in the World, which was formed for the sole purpose of taking advantage of the United States, has just put a nasty 50% Tariff on Whisky. If this Tariff is not removed immediately, the U.S. will shortly place a 200% Tariff on all WINES, CHAMPAGNES, & ALCOHOLIC PRODUCTS COMING OUT OF FRANCE AND OTHER E.U. REPRESENTED COUNTRIES. This will be great for the Wine and Champagne businesses in the U.S.”

Meanwhile, customs brokers yesterday experienced an “Error 775 - TRFF ADJSTMNT HTS NOT ALLOWED” on certain Section 232 entry summaries. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in a March 12 CSMS that it has resolved this issue and filers should resubmit entry summaries that failed as the result of this problem.

CBP Updated Guidance: Duties on Imports of Steel and Aluminum Derivatives Effective at 12:01 a.m. ET, March 12

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) this evening confirmed that the Commerce Secretary has certified collection of the 25% import duty on certain imports of steel and aluminum articles and derivatives from all countries, effective 12:01 a.m. ET on Wednesday, March 12.

BACKGROUND

On Feb. 10, the President issued Proclamation 10896 on Adjusting Imports of Steel into the United States, under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1862), imposing 25 percent ad valorem tariffs on certain imports of steel articles and derivative steel articles from all countries, is effective March 12. See 90 FR 9817 and 90 FR 11249.

Similarly, on Feb. 10, the President issued Proclamation 10895 on Adjusting Imports of Aluminum into the United States, under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1862), imposing ad valorem tariffs on certain imports of aluminum articles and derivative aluminum articles from all countries, is effective March 12. See 90 FR 9807 and 90 FR 11251.

UPDATED GUIDANCE DETAILS

Import Duties on Imports of Steel and Steel Derivative Products

Import Duties on Imports of Steel and Steel Derivative Products

For questions regarding Section 232 entry filing, contact CBP’s Trade Remedy Branch at TradeRemedy@cbp.dhs.gov. If you encounter any errors in filing an entry summary, contact your CBP client representative or the ACE Help Desk.

CBP Provides Trade with IEEPA China and Hong Kong FAQs

To assist with the implementation of the IEEPA tariffs for China and Hong Kong, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has developed these frequently asked questions (FAQs) for the trade.

President Trump on Feb. 1 issued an Executive Order, under the authority of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), to impose at midnight starting Feb. 4, an additional 10% on imports from China. By Friday, Feb. 7, the President issued an amendment to his original executive order that allows Chinese goods to use de minimis until such time as the Department of Commerce notifies the President that “adequate systems are in place to fully and expediently process and collect tariff revenue applicable.”

CBP Quota Guidance for U.S. Steel and Aluminum Imports

In response to the Feb. 10 White House executive orders adjusting U.S. imports of steel and aluminum, all Section 232 tariff rate and absolute quotas for these commodities will expire today, March 11.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in a CSMS to the trade that “all Section 232 tariff rate and absolute quotas entries must be presented to CBP during official office hours per 19 CFR 132.3, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. local port time, on March 11, 2025.”

The agency added that, “Entries that do not achieve quota status by 4:30 p.m. local port time on March 11, 2025, do not qualify for the Section 232 quotas and must be refiled as non-quota entries on March 12, 2025.”

Reference FRN 2025-02833 and FRN 2025-02832 for additional information. For additional steel filling information, see CSMS 64348411, while for additional aluminum filing information, reference CSMS 64348288. For information on the new HTS numbers required, see the 232 HTS chart.

Questions regarding this message or quotas should be referred to CBP Headquarters Quota and Agriculture Branch at HQQUOTA@cbp.dhs.gov, while questions regarding the new tariff structure should be referred to CBP’s Trade Remedy Branch at TradeRemedy@cbp.dhs.gov.

White House Announces Investigation to Impose Reciprocal Tariffs on Other Countries

President Trump on Thursday afternoon, Feb. 13, announced that it will commence a comprehensive investigation to determine “the equivalent of a reciprocal tariff with respect to each foreign trading partner” on other countries with existing tariffs on U.S. goods.

These tariffs will not be imposed immediately by the Trump Administration with goal to give countries time to either lower or eliminate their tariffs on U.S. goods, according to the White House. The U.S. has one of the lowest average duty rates – 2-2.5% -- on imported goods, whereas India, for example, currently has a more than 10% tariff on U.S. goods.

According to news reports, the Commerce Secretary and U.S. Trade Representative will work with the Treasury and Homeland Security secretaries to first review those countries with the highest tariffs on U.S. goods. It is anticipated that the investigation will not begin until after April 1, the due date for a number of reports on various trade-related issues. No deadline was specified for its completion.

According to a presidential memorandum released today, the investigation will examine the following:

• Tariffs imposed on U.S. products.
• Unfair, discriminatory, or extraterritorial taxes imposed by trading partners on U.S. businesses, workers, and consumers, including a value-added tax.
• Costs to U.S. businesses, workers, and consumers arising from non-tariff barriers or measures; unfair or harmful acts, policies, or practices, including subsidies; and burdensome regulatory requirements on U.S. businesses operating in other countries.
• Policies and practices that cause exchange rates to deviate from their market value to the detriment of Americans.
• Wage suppression.
• Other mercantilist policies that make U.S. businesses and workers less competitive.
• Any other practice deemed to impose any unfair limitation on market access or any structural impediment to fair competition with the market economy of the U.S.

The NCBFAA Customs Committee, along with our Customs Counsel and Legislative Advisor of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., will monitor the reciprocal tariff investigation in the days ahead. We will provide our customs broker members with updates as soon as possible.

NCBFAA will continue to keep our members informed with Trump tariff updates through eblasts, as well as a dedicated IEEPA Tariff Updates on our website.

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CBP Guidance for ACE Processing De Minimis Shipments from China

According to the EO, most products of China (including products of Hong Kong as explained in the Federal Register Notice regarding China and EO 13936 (July 17, 2020)) are no longer eligible for the administrative exemption from duty and certain tax at 19 U.S.C. § 1321(a)(2)(C) and are subject to the additional ad valorem rates of duty. 

“Requests for de minimis entry and clearance for ineligible shipments will be rejected,” CBP said. “The filer/importer has the option of filing an appropriate formal or other informal entry and paying all applicable duties, taxes and fees.”

CBP added that the trade should be aware that where the manifest was submitted or an Entry Type 86 was created before 12:01 a.m. ET on Feb. 4, but where the shipment arrived after that time, the covered merchandise will not be eligible for the de minimis exemption. 

The agency said any pre-arrival clearance for these shipments will be cancelled after 12:01 a.m. ET on Feb. 4, adding that it is the responsibility of the trade community to monitor unarrived conveyances. “Filers need to monitor messaging for their shipments and take appropriate action to clear the shipments under the auspices of the Executive Order,” CBP said. 

Details of the CBP guidance for these shipments are provided in CSMS #63992482. 

“As we transition to execution of the Executive Order, it is extremely important that the trade maintain awareness of the shipments they are responsible for and are aware of the messaging that they are receiving from CBP,” the agency said.

CBP will publish additional technical guidance as needed via CSMS.

According to CBP, these changes in ACE are available in the Certification Environment, starting at 5:30 p.m. ET on Feb. 3 and will be available in the Production Environment following a maintenance outage that is the subject of a separate CSMS message.

NCBFAA will continue to keep our members informed with Trump tariff updates through eblasts, as well as a dedicated Trump Tariffs Update webpage on our website.

Attention: The Monday Morning eBriefing (MMeB) and other communications of the NCBFAA are the exclusive property of the Association. Unauthorized use by any person or firm which is not a member in good standing is strictly prohibited.

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