By: Brian Walczyk, Compliance Manager, TradeInsights, LCB, CCS

Friday, October 10th, saw President Trump post that on November 1st Chinese origin goods would face an additional 100% tariff “over and above any Tariff that they are currently paying.” The full posting can be seen here.

On Sunday, October 19th, the President alluded “it will all be fine!” as he called attention to the matter again. The posting can be seen here.

Both statements have caused chaos for the trade industry as continued instability wreaks havoc on busy procuring schedules. No official order or proclamation has been issued implementing the tariff increase.

Treasury Secretary Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Greer held a news conference on October 15th covering the recent set-backs with U.S. and China trade. The conference can be seen here.

Representative Greer and Secretary Bessent both agreed the threat of a tariff increase “is quite real, but our expectation is that they won’t implement this,” speaking in regards to China’s export controls on rare earths and the U.S. response of increasing tariffs.

We will continue to monitor this situation and issue updates as needed. Please contact your V. Alexander account team, or you may also contact our Trade Compliance team at tradeinsights@valexander.com with any questions, and you can always follow us on our website www.valexander.com for updates on this and other topics.