While speaking to reporters on the morning of February 27th, President Donald Trump made remarks stating that he is planning to double the fentanyl-related tariff on Chinese goods to 20% (this is currently at 10% under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act {IEEPA}), which will be in addition to the Section 301 or Section 232 duties, if they apply.

Mexico and Canada tariffs were initially paused until March 4th. No official updates have been published as to whether or not the additional 25% tariff will, in fact, go into effect on March 4th; however, while speaking to reporters, President Trump has stated that the 25% tariff will go into effect on March 4th.

Please note that no official notices have been published as of this morning , Friday, February 28th, 2025.

As previously reported on February 10th, President Trump announced a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports entering the US, which came as an update to the current Section 232 tariffs. These tariffs will begin on March 12th, and all previous amendments to the Section 232 tariffs will be dissolved. Effective dates have yet to be announced for derivative products outside of Chapters 73 and 76 of the US Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTSUS). The tariffs placed on those products will be based on their steel and aluminum content.

Both proclamations terminate all current quotas, tariff-rate quotas, national exemptions, General Approved Exclusions (GAEs), and the product-specific exclusion application process. As a result, the Secretary of Commerce is directed to not consider or renew any product exclusion requests in effect as of 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time on February 10th, 2025 and is also to rescind the product exclusion process. Specific, granted product exclusions will remain in effect until either their expiration date or until the specified excluded product volume is imported, whichever comes first. The GAEs will terminate on March 12th, 2025 (for the lists of GAEs, see Supplements No. 2 and No. 3 of 15 C.F.R. part 705). The Department of Commerce will issue Federal Register notices to provide further guidance on these changes.

RIM will continue to closely monitor this evolving situation and provide updates as necessary. Please reach out to your RIM representative should you have any further questions.