U.S. Trade Policy and Tariff Actions
- 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 2025: Negotiations ongoing.
Resources:
|
| China |
Preliminary Agreement |
1 November 2025: 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 2025: Fact Sheet includes additional information regarding Japan’s investment commitments in the United States including Energy, AI infrastructure, and Electronics and Supply Chain.
Resources:
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| South Korea |
Preliminary Agreement |
1 December 2025: 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 2025: 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:
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| India |
Negotiations ongoing |
5 January 2026: President Trump threatened to raise tariffs if India does not curb purchases of Russian oil.
|
| Canada |
Bilateral and USMCA negotiations ongoing |
19 December 2025: Trade negotiations ongoing. Canada and US to meet in January to discuss USMCA.
|
| Mexico |
Negotiations ongoing |
22 December 2025: Trade negotiations ongoing. No major updates.
|
| Taiwan |
Negotiations ongoing |
29 December 2025: Trade negotiations ongoing. No major updates.
|
| Brazil |
Negotiations ongoing |
20 November 2025: The White House issued an Executive Order removing IEEPA Brazilian domestic policy tariffs for certain agricultural products. No impact on PMMI machinery.
Resources:
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Trade Policy Actions by Other Countries
- EU carbon border tax enters into force: On 1 January 2026, the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) entered the “definitive phase” of the phased implementation which began in 2023. Starting in 2026, EU importers of specific carbon-intensive products, including steel and aluminum, continue to be subject to emission reporting requirements and now are also liable for CBAM certificates (i.e., a carbon tax). However, payment of the CBAM certificates has been delayed until 2027 to relieve financial pressure from the affected industries. CBAM certificates are calculated based on the €/ton of CO2 emitted during the manufacturing process. PMMI members in the EU, which source foreign steel and aluminum for the manufacturing of machinery, are now liable for this carbon-emissions based fee.
- Please note that currently the CBAM product scope does not include food processing and packaging machinery. However, on 17 December 2025, a proposal was introduced which would expand the scope of CBAM to include downstream products such as machinery. The proposal continues to be in draft, and no timeline is available for when it will advance in the EU parliament. If implemented, EU imports of finished machinery of 8422 and 8438 may be subject to the same reporting requirements and carbon-emission based fees which are implemented on EU imports of steel and aluminum products. We will continue to monitor and update if the proposal enters into force and targets food processing and packaging machinery.
- Mexico implements new tariffs on non-FTA countries: Starting 1 January 2026, Mexico’s new tariff measures took effect, imposing duties of 5% to 50% on 1,400 products, including certain steel products of Chapter 72. New higher tariffs are applied on imports into Mexico from countries without a trade agreement with Mexico, such as China, South Korea, Thailand, India, and Indonesia. Food processing and packaging machinery of HS 8422 and 8438 are not impacted by the new tariff measures and remain duty-free or subject to standard/non-preferential tariff rates of 5% or 15%. PMMI members sourcing steel products of Ch. 72 into Mexico are encouraged to review the tariff list to confirm whether their specific imports are affected.
- India extends safeguard duties on China: On 30 December 2025, India published a gazette notification extending for three years the implementation of safeguard duties between 11% and 12% on non-alloy and alloy steel from China. PMMI members based in India sourcing Chinese origin steel for certain machinery manufacturing may see increased sourcing costs.
