On January 20, 2025, within a few hours of his return to the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an “America First Trade Policy” memorandum, revealing the initial priorities of his trade agenda. Week one in the Oval Office has seen a flurry of trade and tariff threats and calls to negotiate. 

The first week of President Trump’s second term included a strong focus on trade and tariffs. Here’s a roundup of key trade developments from his first week:

• “America First Trade Policy”: On January 20, 2025, Trump issued his Presidential Memorandum, “America First Trade Policy,” outlining his approach to trade policy and directing agencies to begin reviewing and identifying unfair trade practices, trade agreements, existing antidumping and countervailing duty laws, and advising modifications to each. For example, the America First Trade Policy directed agencies to investigate the feasibility of establishing an External Revenue Service (ERS) to collect tariffs, duties, and other foreign trade-related revenues. The Policy also directed the U.S. Trade Representative to review and identify unfair trade practices, review existing trade agreements, identify countries for new bilateral or sector-specific agreements, commence public consultation with respect to the USMCA, and consider additional tariff modifications against the Peoples Republic of China. The Policy also directed the agencies to review and assess the effectiveness of exclusions, exemptions, or other import adjustment measures for steel and aluminum. The Policy did not explicitly state that new tariffs or modified tariffs will occur, but it hints that they are likely. More on this further below.
• USTR’s Announcements: On January 24, 2025, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced that pursuant to the America First Trade Policy, it will review foreign trade practices that may be unfair, unreasonable, or discriminatory to the United States. It will also review the Economic and Trade Agreement between the U.S. and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to determine whether the PRC is acting in accordance with its commitments.
• USMCA: Since winning the election, Trump has threatened to impose a 25% tariff on all imports from Canada and Mexico, which he has warned could apply beginning February 1, 2025. A review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is under way, and President Trump has asked for the USTR to make recommendations by April 1. On Thursday, January 23, 2025, Trump told the World Economic Forum in Davos that tariffs would not be imposed if Canada became a state of the United States of America.
• Changes to the De Minimis Exception for Low-Value Imports: Trump’s America First Trade Policy also ordered the agencies to assess the reduction in revenues and the risks from importing counterfeit products and contraband drugs under de minimis. On January 23, 2025, U.S. lawmakers introduced a bipartisan bill to revoke China’s preferential trade status with the United States, phase in steep tariffs, and end the de minimis exemption for low-value Chinese imports. The bill would also end the de minimis exemption for certain other nations.   

The presidential memorandum directs several federal agencies and offices involved in trade policy,^[1] including the Department of Treasury, Commerce, Homeland Security, and the USTR, among others, to review specific trade issues, including trade deficits and the possibility of a global supplemental tariff, the feasibility of establishing an “External Revenue Service” (ERS), existing trade agreements, antidumping and countervailing (AD/CVD) policies, the de minimis exemption, and evaluating legislative proposals on Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China. The results of these reviews and recommendations are to be delivered to the president in three reports by April 1, 2025, and the report on foreign subsidies on U.S. federal procurement by April 30, 2025.

Although the memorandum does not direct the immediate imposition of U.S. tariffs, Trump continues to step up his approach of threatening trade partners with tariffs. During an Oval Office signing ceremony on the evening of January 20, Trump reiterated his intention to impose a 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico on February 1, citing concerns over border security. The next day, on January 21, Trump echoed his plans to impose a 10% duty on all Chinese imports on February 1, voicing concerns over fentanyl trafficking through Mexico and Canada. On January 21 and during a video appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump alluded to a troubling U.S. trade deficit with the European Union (EU) and also threatened to impose tariffs on goods from the EU. He did not provide the timing or amount of tariff increases on EU goods. Further, on January 26, Trump threatened to impose an emergency 25% tariff (later to be increased to 50%) on Colombian imports, following Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s refusal to permit the landing of two U.S. military aircraft with detained Colombian migrants. On that same day, Colombia agreed to receive deported migrants and Trump halted the imposition of tariffs on Colombian imports.  

Directives Under the Presidential Memorandum

Trump’s “American First Trade Policy” memorandum contains numerous directives presented in three main sections: (1) Addressing Unfair and Unbalanced Trade; (2) Economic and Trade Relations with the People’s Republic of China, and (3) Additional Economic Security Matters. In each section, major federal agencies and offices involved in U.S. trade policy are directed to undertake tasks, as identified below.

Addressing Unfair and Unbalanced Trade

Under the first section of this presidential memorandum, the Departments of Treasury, Commerce, and Homeland Security and the USTR are directed to:

• Investigate the causes of U.S. trade deficits, including related potential economic and national security implications and risks, with a view toward recommending appropriate measures, such as a global supplemental tariff or other policies (Commerce, Treasury, and USTR).
• Investigate the feasibility of establishing an “External Revenue Service” (ERS) to collect tariffs, duties, and other foreign trade-related revenues (Commerce, Treasury, and Homeland Security).
• Identify any unfair foreign trade practices (Commerce, Treasury, USTR, and Senior Counsel for Trade and Manufacturing).
• Commence the public consultation process for the July 2026 review of the USMCA and assess the impact of the USMCA on U.S. workers, farmers, ranchers, service providers, and other businesses (USTR).
• Review the policies and practices of U.S. trading partners regarding currency exchange to identify and counter currency manipulation and misalignment (Treasury).
• Review existing U.S. trade agreements and sectoral trade arrangements and recommend any necessary revisions (USTR).
• Identify countries with which the U.S. could negotiate future trade agreements on a bilateral or sector-specific basis (USTR).
• Review U.S. policies and regulations regarding the application of AD/CVD law and consider related modifications, if appropriate (Commerce).
• Review the tariff revenue loss and risks associated with the importation of counterfeit products and contraband drugs via the de minimis exemption for low-value imports (Commerce, Treasury, Homeland Security, USTR, and Senior Counsel for Trade and Manufacturing).
• Investigate whether any foreign country subjects U.S. citizens or companies to any discriminatory or extraterritorial foreign taxes (Treasury).
• Review all trade agreements, including the World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement, and their impact on the volume of federal procurement covered by the April 18, 2017, “Buy American and Hire American” Executive Order (USTR)

Economic and Trade Relations with the People’s Republic of China

Under the second section of this presidential memorandum, the Department of Commerce and the USTR are tasked to undertake the following actions:

• Review the U.S.-China Economic and Trade Agreement and whether China is compliant with the Agreement, and assess whether the imposition of tariffs or other measures are needed (USTR).
• Review the May 14, 2024, report entitled, “Four-Year Review of Actions Taken in the Section 301 Investigation: China’s Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation” and determine whether any additional tariff modifications are needed —particularly regarding industrial supply chains and third-country circumvention (USTR).
• Investigate any additional policies or practices by China that may be unreasonable or discriminatory or that burden or restrict U.S. trade (USTR).
• Assess legislative proposals regarding Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China and any needed changes (Commerce and USTR).
• Review the status of U.S. intellectual property rights conferred on Chinese persons and assess whether there is reciprocal and balanced treatment (Commerce).

Additional Economic Security Matters

The third section of the presidential memorandum covers various issues relating to U.S. supply chains, export controls, and national security concerns and tasks the Departments of State, Defense, and Commerce; the USTR; the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy; the Senior Counsel for Trade and Manufacturing; and the Office of Management and Budget with the following actions:

• Undertake a full economic and security review of the U.S. industrial and manufacturing base and determine whether it is necessary to initiate investigations under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (19 USC § 1862) against imports that threaten U.S. national security (Commerce, Defense, and any other relevant agencies).
• Review and assess the effectiveness of existing exclusions and exemptions and other import adjustment measures on U.S. steel and aluminum under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (Commerce, USTR, Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, and Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing).
• Review the U.S. export control system, focusing on maintaining, obtaining, and enhancing the nation’s technological edge and identifying and eliminating loopholes with a focus on strategic goods, software, services, and technologies. This includes recommendations relating to export control enforcement to encourage compliance by foreign countries (Commerce and State, in cooperation with other agencies with export control authority).
• Review the rulemaking by the Office of Information and Communication Technology and Services (ICTS) at the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) on connected vehicles and whether controls on ICTS transactions should be expanded to other connected products (Commerce).
• Review U.S. outbound investment security regime, specifically the Biden administration’s Executive Order of August 9, 2023, “Addressing United States Investments in Certain National Security Technologies and Products in Countries of Concern,” and consider whether it should be modified or rescinded and replaced; evaluate whether related implementing regulations include sufficient controls to address national security threats (Treasury, Commerce, and other relevant agencies).
• Assess whether foreign government financial contributions or subsidies have a distorting impact on U.S. federal procurement programs and provide any relevant recommendations (Office of Management and Budget).
• Assess any unlawful migration and fentanyl flows from Canada, Mexico, and China, and any other relevant jurisdictions, and recommend appropriate measures to resolve that “emergency” (Commerce and Homeland Security).

Presidential Memorandum Implications

President Trump’s “America First Trade Policy” memorandum reveals the initial steps of a comprehensive and aggressive trade agenda. While the presidential memorandum does not call for the imposition of immediate tariffs, it does set the stage for a potential sharp reversal of current trade policies and the introduction of new policies and measures (potentially including tariffs) likely to impact U.S. importers, exporters, and other players in global supply chains. The results of the reviews and recommendations from the federal agencies and offices tasked by the presidential memorandum, to be delivered as early as early as April 1, will likely be used by the new administration to support its trade decisions and actions in the near future. Meanwhile, it is expected that Trump will continue to use his tariffs threats as a driving strategy to exert pressure on U.S. trade partners to seek to resolve trade and non-trade issues. 

For an in-depth legal analysis of any of the specific directives under the “America First Trade Policy” memorandum and/or to assist your company in evaluating the potential legal implications of these directives for your business, please contact us.

Our Akerman International Trade, Customs, Export Controls, and Sanctions attorneys stand ready to assist companies in navigating these changes, opportunities, and risks.

[1]  President Trump’s January 20, 2025, “America First Trade Policy” is addressed to the Secretaries of State, Treasury, Defense, Commerce, and Homeland Security; the Director of The Office of Management and Budget; the United States Trade Representative; the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy; and the Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing.