Tariff 90 Day Pause

We are happy to start with some good news today. President Trump has announced a 90-day pause on all of the reciprocal tariffs that went into effect at 12:01 am on April 9, except for those imposed on China. For China, Trump announced an increase to 125% (from the current 84% that started today). At this point in the 10% universal tariff remains in effect. We will continue to update as soon as announcements are made. 

EU Update: The EU has released information on its expected list of retaliatory tariffs based on the steel and aluminum dispute, as well as statements that the EU would be willing to review the zero for zero tariff concept that has been pushed by the wine and spirits industry. The EU is also holding firm that they are prepared to implement further tariffs should the USA not be willing to negotiate a deal. The first tariffs reviewed were part of the original steel and aluminum dispute from 2018 and 2020, and this list contained USA wine and spirits. The positive news is that USA beverage alcohol, including whiskey and bourbon and wine, have  been removed from the list—thanks largely to persistent lobbying by the USA trade associations and support from our European partners. The tariffs are scheduled to be implemented in stages, April 15, May 15, and December 1. The bad news is that US wood casks are on the EU list and expected to be hit with 25% tariffs.
The total list of US Products that will be tariffed by the EU is supposed to be released on Monday April 14. Keep in mind that the current announcements are only a response to the steel and aluminum tariffs, and NOT a response to the reciprocal tariffs. Further announcements will be made in response to the universal and reciprocal tariffs in the upcoming days.

Update on USA tariffs and timelines:

With the current updates on the pause on the reciprocal tariffs, we may see further input on exemptions but we wanted to update a few areas that have been of concern to our members:

• In-transit Exemption: WSSA has been joining many industry calls discussing the implementation and exemption process for the new tariffs. There has been a great deal of discussion regarding the interpretation of final mode. CBP officials and Customs attorneys are advising that the legal interpretation is the last leg of the journey, thus if there is a transshipment involved, the “final mode” will be the date of departure from the transshipment port. Should there be any update to this interpretation, we will send out further information.
• FTZ/Foreign Trade Zone and Bonded Warehouse Usage: The executive order states that all goods entered into an FTZ must be entered under Priveleged Foreign status, meaning that the admission date into the zone will determine the duty/tariff rate and it cannot be changed. Bonded Warehouse entries were not mentioned in the order, thus we are currently considering normal course of business for entries into bonded warehouses, meaning that the duty/tariff rate will be applied based on the date of withdrawal from the warehouse. Should anyone have any questions on the above points, please reach out to us.

China Escalation: The trade war from China has escalated and tariff increases for Chinese goods exported to the USA have been implemented as of April 9 at 12:01 am with an additional 50% tariff applied, bringing the IEEPA tariffs to 84% (retaliatory and reciprocal combined), plus any tariffs applicable under the Section 301 steel and aluminium tariffs already in effect. China has also announced tariffs on the USA exports to China to go into effect on April 10, 2025 at 12:01 am, increasing tariffs from 34% to 84%. With the latest announcement of 125% tariffs, we expect to see further response from China.