U.S. Trade Policy and Tariff Actions
- CIT pauses additional IEEPA tariff lawsuits while awaiting SCOTUS’s ruling: On 23 December, the Court of International Trade (CIT) issued a standing order that will automatically suspend all newly filed suits from importers seeking refunds from President Trump’s tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) until the Supreme Court rules on their legality, which is not expected to issue a decision until Q1 2026.
- Status of US bilaterial negotiations and discussions: Please see the chart below for the latest on how certain countries are engaging with the United States in effort to reduce reciprocal tariffs and conclude bilateral deals.
| Market |
Status Update |
Summary |
| EU |
Agreement Framework released through Executive Order.
EU reduced tariffs on US goods not yet implemented.
|
22 December: Negotiations ongoing.
Resources:
|
| China |
Preliminary Agreement |
1 November: US and China announce trade deal. The Federal Register notices include information on US modifying China’s IEEPA tariff to 20% (10% IEEPA fentanyl + 10% IEEPA reciprocal). Higher reciprocal tariff increases paused until next year.
Resources:
|
| Japan |
Preliminary Agreement |
28 October: Fact Sheet includes additional information regarding Japan’s investment commitments in the United States including Energy, AI infrastructure, and Electronics and Supply Chain.
Resources:
|
| South Korea |
Preliminary Agreement |
1 December: South Korea introduced legislation in parliament to implement the US–South Korea trade agreement. Retroactive to 1 November 2025, IEEPA duties on South Korea will be 15%.
Fact sheet includes additional information on South Korea’s investment commitments in the US, South Korea’s IEEPA reciprocal tariff rate, and reductions on Section 232 tariffs for auto and auto parts, timber and lumber, pharma, and chips.
Resources:
|
| Switzerland |
Preliminary Agreement |
5 December: Switzerland adopted negotiating directives on Switzerland–US agreement. US food processing and packaging machinery already MFN duty-free, so additional market access benefits expected for US exports into Switzerland.
Resources:
|
| India |
Negotiations ongoing |
22 December: Trade negotiations ongoing. No major updates.
|
| Canada |
Bilateral and USMCA negotiations ongoing |
19 December: Trade negotiations ongoing. Canada and US to meet in January to discuss USMCA.
|
| Mexico |
Negotiations ongoing |
22 December: Trade negotiations ongoing. No major updates.
|
| Taiwan |
Negotiations ongoing |
29 December: Trade negotiations ongoing. No major updates.
|
| Brazil |
Negotiations ongoing |
20 November: The White House issued an Executive Order removing IEEPA Brazilian domestic policy tariffs for certain agricultural products. No impact on PMMI machinery.
Resources:
|
Trade Policy Actions by Other Countries
- Canada and Mercosur to finalize trade deal next year: On 28 December, reporting indicated that Canada and Mercosur, which includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, are aiming to finalize a trade deal by the end of 2026. While market access proposals have not been published, we anticipate that tariff savings may be significant for Canadian origin machinery imported into Mercosur member countries as most food processing and packaging machinery is subject to MFN/non-preferential tariffs of up to 12.6%.
- China pledges to control steel output: On 26 December, reporting indicated that China will continue to actively regulate crude steel output in an effort to limit overcapacity and carbon emissions. These measures, along previously announced export licensing requirements, may increase the cost of Chinese origin crude steel used for semi-finished steel products and additional cost may be passed down to downstream users such as manufacturers of machinery equipment.
