Trade on CrossGov.com

The Graham Russia Sanctions Act Takes Effect on October 19 as Trump Strikes a Diesel Deal With Putin

Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

On 18 September the President signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026. It passed the Senate 86 to 11 and the House 262 to 159. Its main provisions take effect on 19 October.

The law lets the President impose tariffs of up to 500% on Russian goods, and of up to 100% on the five largest buyers of Russian oil or gas, or the five biggest helpers in evading sanctions. It requires sanctions on Sberbank, VTB and Gazprombank, bans trading in some Russian securities, and adds sanctions on Rosatom, the state nuclear company, from 2028. Lifting the Russia measures requires a peace deal Ukraine accepts. The President can waive almost everything on national interest grounds.

Section 301 Forced Labour Tariffs on 60 Economies Face a Court of International Trade Test After the IEEPA Ruling

Fri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

On 30 September a three-judge panel of the Court of International Trade in New York heard the first major challenge to the tariffs that replaced the emergency tariffs struck down in February. The case, brought by importers including a spice company, Burlap & Barrel, and a watchmaker, Collective Horology, argues that the US Trade Representative stretched Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 beyond what Congress allowed.

The judges pressed the government on why USTR hadn’t considered the different development levels of the 60 economies covered. On 2 October the court ordered both sides to file more briefs answering its questions.

US Tariff Revenue Falls to $172 Billion in FY2026 as IEEPA Refunds Turn Customs Receipts Negative for Three Months

Fri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

For three months in 2026, the US government collected less in customs duties than it paid back. Net customs receipts were minus $0.04 billion in May, minus $25.56 billion in June and minus $8.55 billion in July, according to Treasury’s monthly statements. In June alone, refunds reached $49.18 billion.

The refunds followed the Supreme Court’s ruling in February that the President couldn’t impose tariffs under the emergency powers law. Importers had paid about $166 billion under those tariffs. By September, Customs and Border Protection had certified about $122 billion in refunds, including interest.

Supreme Court Strikes Down IEEPA Tariffs: $122 Billion in Refunds and the Section 301 and 232 Tariffs That Replaced Them

Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

On 20 February 2026 the Supreme Court ruled 6 to 3 that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act doesn’t give the President the power to impose tariffs. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority in Learning Resources v. Trump, decided together with V.O.S. Selections. Justices Kavanaugh, Thomas and Alito dissented.

The ruling knocked out the legal basis for most of the tariffs imposed since early 2025. Customs and Border Protection stopped collecting them on 24 February. By then it had taken in about $166 billion from more than 330,000 importers.

DOE's LNG Export Approvals Pass 18.6 Bcf a Day as US Supplies a Quarter of the World Market and the EU's $750 Billion Pledge Lags

Wed, 07 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Department of Energy has approved more than 18.6 billion cubic feet a day of new liquefied natural gas exports to countries without a US free trade agreement since January 2025, according to its own tally in March 2026. That’s more new export capacity than any administration has authorised in a comparable period.

The approvals followed the end of a pause. In January 2024 the Biden administration had stopped new non-FTA export approvals while DOE studied their economic and climate effects. The new administration lifted the pause on 20 January 2025.

US Economy in 2026: The Warsh Fed Raises Rates to 4% as Inflation Hits 3.4% and Job Growth Stalls at 29,000

Tue, 06 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

On 16 September 2026 the Federal Reserve raised its policy rate by a quarter point, to 3.75–4.00%. It was the first increase since July 2023, and the vote was 12 to 0. The Fed’s statement said inflation remained elevated. Its median projection pointed to one more hike before the end of the year.

Two weeks later, the September jobs report showed employers added just 29,000 jobs. July was revised to a loss of 10,000. Unemployment was 4.2%.

Project Vault Signs Glencore and Mercuria as the FORGE Critical Minerals Price Floor Agreement Stays Unsigned

Sat, 03 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

On 23 September Glencore and Mercuria became the first commodity traders to join Project Vault, the US critical minerals stockpile, committing $1 billion between them. Project Vault is backed by a $10 billion loan from the Export-Import Bank, the bank’s largest ever, plus about $2 billion of private money. It’s run by a private company, VaultCo, with EXIM as a non-voting board observer, and can buy any of the 60 minerals the US Geological Survey lists as critical. No purchases have been disclosed.

Section 232 Becomes the Main US Tariff Tool: Metals at 50%, Autos, Chips, Drones and Polysilicon Next

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 lets the Commerce Department investigate whether imports threaten national security and lets the President set tariffs if they do. Since the Supreme Court struck down the emergency tariffs in February 2026, it has become the administration’s main tariff tool. It now covers steel, aluminium, copper, cars, trucks, lumber, some semiconductors, patented drugs and drones, with polysilicon due in December.

The law suits the purpose. It needs no vote in Congress, has no time limit and sets no ceiling on rates. The courts have mostly deferred to the executive on what counts as national security.

FDA Becomes a Tool of Industrial Policy: Priority Vouchers, PreCheck and the 100% Pharma Tariff That Most Big Drugmakers Avoid

Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

On 1 April 2026 the FDA approved Eli Lilly’s Foundayo, an obesity pill, 50 days after the company filed. Standard reviews take about ten months. The speed came from a Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher, a programme launched in June 2025 that promises reviews in one to two months for drugs the agency judges to serve national priorities. Two of the first nine vouchers went to products made in the US.

US-China Trade Truce Extended to January 10, 2027: What Each Side Has Suspended and What Is Still in Force

Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

On 23 September 2026, the day Xi Jinping arrived in Washington for a three-day state visit, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the trade truce between the two countries would be extended to 10 January 2027. The aim, he said, was to give both sides more time on the economic front. China’s Commerce Ministry confirmed the extension a few days later.

Two more months. The truce has become the operating system of US–China economic relations: a set of suspended threats, each with an expiry date, renewed just before they bite.

US Threatens to Pull Buy American Waivers as Europe Writes 'Buy European' Into Defence Spending

Sun, 27 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

On 15 September 2026 the United States sent EU lawmakers a paper warning that it “will review all potential response measures” if the EU writes a European preference into its next long-term budget. One of the measures on the table: rolling back the Buy American waivers that let European defence companies compete for Pentagon contracts.

Nineteen of the EU’s 27 member states have Reciprocal Defense Procurement agreements with the US. Under them, American buyers waive Buy American rules for those countries’ firms, and the countries do the same for US firms. Washington is now signalling that the deal works only if Europe keeps buying American too.

US-Japan Critical Minerals Pact Moves Toward Price Floors as China Squeezes Japan's Rare Earth Supply

Tue, 15 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

In March 2026, at a summit in Washington, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced a US–Japan action plan on critical minerals. It’s meant to be the basis for a binding agreement among several countries, with minimum prices for minerals enforced at the border, coordinated stockpiles and joint financing for mining and processing projects. The same summit added a memorandum on deep-sea rare earths near Japan’s Minamitorishima island and a second tranche of Japanese investment, up to $73 billion, including 13 critical mineral supply chain projects.