On July 15, 2026, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) concluded its Section 301 investigation into Brazil’s unreasonable acts, policies, and practices by imposing a 25% tariff on most imports from Brazil, effective July 22, 2026. The action follows more than a year of investigation, multiple rounds of negotiations with Brazilian officials, a public comment period that generated over 360 written submissions, and a two-day public hearing held on July 6–7, 2026.
On July 16, 2026, the U.S. Senate confirmed five nominees to serve as Commissioners of the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC or Commission) by voice vote, restoring the agency to its full six-member panel for the first time in years. The Senate Finance Committee had approved all five nominations with large bipartisan support the day prior.
On July 15, 2026, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued CSMS #69252300, providing guidance on the new reporting requirements for the countries of smelt and cast for imports of certain copper articles under Proclamation 11021. Beginning July 30, 2026, importers of specified copper wire and cable products will be required to submit smelt and cast country information through the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE).
On June 11, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) granted the federal government’s motion for a stay pending appeal, pausing enforcement of a U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) injunction on the collection of Section 122 duties against the State of Washington and two private businesses – Burlap and Barrel, Inc. and Basic Fun, Inc.
The U.S. Government withdrew its petition for a writ of mandamus at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“Federal Circuit”). On June 9, 2026, the Federal Circuit granted the Government’s request to withdraw the petition and dismissed the mandamus proceeding in In re United States, Fed. Cir. # 26-144, before Senior Judge Richard K. Eaton.
On June 2, 2026, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) announced a public comment period related to the development of a new government-to-government mechanism, a proposed U.S.-China “Board of Trade,” intended to provide an ongoing channel for managing aspects of bilateral trade between the United States and China.
IEEPA Refund Updates: CBP Targets May 11 for First IEEPA Duty Refunds
On April 28, 2026, Judge Richard K. Eaton of the U.S. Court of International Trade issued an Order in Euro-Notions Florida, Inc. v. United States, et al. (Court No. 25-00595) addressing early implementation progress for CBP’s new Automated Commercial Environment (“ACE”) functionality designed to refund International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”) duties, including interest. The order follows CBP’s rollout of Phase 1 of its Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (“CAPE”) tool on April 20, 2026, and reflects issues raised during a closed conference held on April 28 regarding access, usability, and the treatment of certain categories of entries.