On Friday, Feb. 7, President Trump issued a further executive order (EO) that temporarily allow goods from China to enter the United States under the “de minimis” provision. Under this EO, “de minimis” treatment will be available for imports of goods from China until the secretary of commerce notifies the president that “adequate systems are in place to fully and expediently process and collect tariff revenue” form such goods. The new EO does not revoke the 10% tariff on Chinese goods that are not eligible for “de minimis,” which went into effect on Feb. 4. While it originally appeared dated Feb. 7, this new EO now appears on whitehouse.gov dated Feb. 5.

The new EO does not impact Canada or Mexico. Goods produced in Mexico and Canada remain eligible for “de minimis” treatment as part of the 30-day pause in tariffs on those countries.

Also on Feb. 7, President Trump stated that he will announce additional “reciprocal” tariffs on Monday and Tuesday of next week. Speaking alongside Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, he emphasized that the trade deficit with Japan must be eliminated but did not specify whether Japan or other nations would be subject to these additional tariffs. President Trump has previously raised concern with trade and tariff imbalances between the U.S. and the European Union, as well as other countries.

China

In a statement released on Feb. 4, the Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) announced that tariffs ranging from 10% to 15% would be imposed on select American exports beginning on Feb. 10. The announcement does not specify a time on Feb. 10 or outline whether the tariffs will apply to goods already in transit. The tariffs include:

• A 15% tariff on coal and liquefied natural gas, specifically: unformed anthracite; coking coal; other unformed bituminous coal; briquettes, coal balls and similar solid fuels made from coal; unformed lignite (Annex 1 – Eight total items).
• A 10% tariffs on “crude oil, agricultural machinery, large-displacement automobiles, and pickup trucks.” This includes pure electric trucks and a range of passenger, off-road and other vehicles with hybrid and traditional engines, among other goods. (Annex 2 – 72 total items)

Chinese President Jinping took several additional retaliatory measures, including filing a complaint at the World Trade Organization (WTO), initiating an antitrust investigation on Google, expanding export controls on critical minerals, and designating several American companies to its Unreliable Entity List.

China’s retaliatory actions are narrower than President Trump’s blanket 10% tariff on all Chinese goods.

Mexico

In a social media post on Feb. 3, President Trump confirmed that tariffs on Mexico will be paused for one month as negotiations continue between the two countries. According to President Trump’s post and a statement from President Sheinbaum, Mexico will also deploy 10,000 National Guard troops to the two countries’ border.

Canada

In a social media post on Feb. 3, President Trump confirmed that tariffs on Canada will be paused for one month as negotiations continue between the two countries. According to President Trump’s post and a statement from Prime Minister Trudeau, Canada will dedicate $1.3 billion to enhance border security and drug enforcement. The plan will include:

• deployment of an additional 10,000 border patrol agents;
• appointment of a “Fentanyl Czar,” whose duties are not yet defined;
• designation of drug cartels as terrorist organizations;
• constant border patrol; and
• establishment of a “Canada-U.S. Joint Strike Force to combat organized crime, fentanyl and money laundering”

Additionally, Prime Minister Trudeau signed an intelligence directive authorizing $200 million to combat organized crime and the importation of fentanyl.

In his post, President Trump mentioned that the pause would enable his administration to “see whether or not a final cconomic deal with Canada can be structured.” This reinforces the possibility that an agreement between the two countries to resolve the tariff threat could go beyond issues related to border security to redefine, or begin to redefine, the two countries’ economic relationship