U.S. Trade Policy and Tariff Actions
- The U.S. and China to establish a “board of trade” to manage trade relations on non-critical goods: Following a state by President Trump to China, the U.S. and China announce their intentions to establish a board of trade to promote strategic stability and manage trade in non-sensitive goods. While the details of the board of trade are not yet known, these efforts indicate a focus by the U.S. and China to bring stability to their trade relationship and avoid the ratcheting of tariffs of up to 145% that took place in April 2025.
- Trade deal between the U.S. and EU expected to be finalized in the coming weeks: While EU leaders have not yet concluded internal negotiations related to the U.S.-EU trade deal first announced in July 2025, the European Parliament’s top trade negotiator Bernd Lange indicated that the deal is on track to be finalized later this month. Implementation of the agreement has been delayed because of discussions among EU stakeholders to incorporate a “sunrise clause” into the agreement, which would make the agreement expire within two years and force implementation to be contingent on the U.S. reducing steel and aluminum tariffs on EU origin imports. Once implemented, the EU has committed to eliminating tariffs on industrial goods, including the 1.7% standard/MFN tariff on U.S. origin food processing and packaging machinery of 8422 and 8438.
Trade Policy Actions by Other Countries
- EU Commission developing trade measures to limit sourcing of critical inputs from Chinese suppliers: In the coming weeks EU leaders will debate and develop trade measures aimed at protecting the EU marketplace from an influx of cheap Chinese products. Among the trade measures in discussion are new requirements on European businesses to buy critical components from at least three different suppliers, with the goal of diversifying away from China. The new requirements would apply to critical EU sectors, including industrial machinery. Given internal discussions continue and no formal policies have been announced, it is unclear whether manufacturers of food processing and packaging machinery would be in scope.
