U.S. Trade Policy and Tariff Actions
- US and India announce joint statement and removal of 25% Russian Oil tariff: On 6 February, the White House published the United States-India joint statement regarding reciprocal trade and an Executive Order Modifying duties to address threats to the United States by the government of the Russian Federation.
- Impact on US Imports
- As part of the joint statement, India’s IEEPA reciprocal tariff is expected to be lowered from 25% to 18%. We are awaiting whether all Indian origin goods are in scope and the date of implementation is unknown. As noted in last week’s cross-border trade update, based on the latest full year of data (November 2024 – October 2025), the US imported $56 M from India which was the 10th largest sourcing market for food processing and packaging machinery of 8422 and 8438. If implemented on all goods, we anticipate tariff costs will reduce by $3.9 M per year.
- Separately, in the EO published this weekend, IEEPA Russian oil tariff of 25% was removed on all imports from India effective 7 February 2026. We estimate tariff costs will reduce by $14 M per year. The CSMS message from CBP was published today.
- US Export Opportunity:
- The joint statement notes “India will eliminate or reduce tariffs on all U.S. industrial goods”. Details on which tariff lines will be reduced, and which will be eliminated are unknown. As noted in last week’s cross-border trade update, based on the latest full year of data, the US exported $42 M to India, which was the 9th largest export market for food processing and packaging machinery of 8422 and 8438. Current tariffs into India are 7.5%.
- EU Parliament to vote on implementation of U.S. trade deal: On 5 February 2026, Bernd Lange, the chair of EU Parliament’s committee on international trade (INTA), indicated the committee could hold a vote on the United States trade deal on 24 February. INTA must approve the trade deal before the full EU Parliament can vote on it. Upon entry into force, current EU tariffs of 1.7% on US-origin packaging and food processing machinery of 8422 and 8438 will be duty-free into the EU.
- 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 January 2026: Agreement not yet implemented by the EU.
Resources:
|
| China |
Preliminary Agreement |
1 November 2025: US and China announce trade deal. 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:
|
| South Korea |
Preliminary Agreement |
9 February 2026: South Korea’s Parliament voted to fast-track US–Korea trade agreement legislation after President Trump threatened to raise tariffs from 15% to 25%.
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 |
14 January 2026: Switzerland’s Federal Council adopted the final negotiating mandate for talks on the trade agreement with the United States.
Retroactive to 14 November 2025: IEEPA duties on Switzerland will be no higher than 15% (imports subject to 15% or MFN rate, whichever is higher).
The Federal Register Notice states that refunds of duties collected will be processed pursuant to applicable law and CBP procedures. Importers may file post-summary corrections for duties originally assessed at 39%.
Resources:
|
| India |
Preliminary Agreement |
6 February 2026: United States–India Joint Statement released alongside Executive Order removing Russian oil tariffs.
Resources:
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| Canada |
Bilateral and USMCA negotiations ongoing |
27 January 2026: Preparations ongoing for the USMCA mandatory 6-year review in July 2026. Bilateral trade negotiations are ongoing.
|
| Mexico |
Negotiations ongoing |
28 January 2026: Mexico and US agree to start formal discussions on USMCA. Please see above for more information.
|
| Taiwan |
Negotiations ongoing |
15 January 2026: US and Taiwan announced a trade deal.
Resources:
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| 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
- Brazil considers MERCOSUR-China trade agreement: On 3 February in a joint statement between Urugay and China, the two countries hoped free trade negotiations between China and MERCOSUR could begin “as soon as possible.” On 6 February, reporting indicated that Brazil’s government, who has vetoed MERCOSUR free trade negotiations with China in the past, will consider pushing for formal negotiations to begin.
