The Trump Administration’s America First Trade Policy

TradeLawTrends – The Trump Administration’s America First Trade Policy

On January 20,2025, President Trump’s new Administration issued a memorandum (“Memorandum”) that lays out certain directives and goals for U.S. foreign trade. The Memorandum states that the Administration intends to establish “a robust and reinvigorated trade policy that promotes investment and productivity, enhances our Nation’s industrial and technological advantages, defends our economic and national security, and — above all — benefits American workers, manufacturers, farmers, ranchers, entrepreneurs, and businesses.”

Analysis. The President sets forth in the Memorandum extremely valuable and insightful foreign trade goals that will if effective increase U.S. gross domestic product, decrease foreign trade deficits, add domestic jobs, decrease reliance on foreign goods for national security purposes, and increase tariff revenues. Importantly, President addresses in the Memorandum the unlawful importation of fentanyl. The President’s addition of tariffs to combat this drug is insightful – anything we can do to stop this killer drug from entry into the U.S. is worthwhile.

In the short term, however, some of the directives if implemented could frustrate the President’s other goals including fighting inflation, and promoting a stable if not relatively devalued U.S. Dollar to facilitate export of U.S. goods to balance trade deficits. Additionally, the President’s immigration policies may frustrate domestic job creation particularly in agriculture and the service industries where there already exists a shortage of workers. Balancing these somewhat conflicting goals will prove challenging. Below is a short-hand list of the Memorandum directives.

Directives Addressing Unfair and Unbalanced Trade. The President has directed in appropriate order the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, the United States Trade Representative, and the Secretary of Homeland Security, together with the heads of other relevant executive departments and agencies to:

  • investigate our large and persistent annual trade deficits, the economic and national security implications and risks resulting from such deficits, and recommend appropriate measures, such as a global supplemental tariff or other policies, to remedy such deficits;
  •  investigate the feasibility to establish and recommend the best methods for designing, building, and implementing an External Revenue Service (ERS) to collect tariffs, duties, and other foreign trade-related revenues;
  • undertake a review of, and identify, any unfair trade practices by other countries and recommend appropriate actions to remedy such practices under applicable authorities;
  • prepare to review the U.S. Mexico Canada Trade Agreement (“USMCA”) in advance of the previously scheduled July 2026 review date,
  •  investigate currency exchange rates with particular attention to currency exchange rate manipulation or misalignment that provides trading partners with unfair competitive advantages;
  • review existing trade agreements and recommend changes to achieve fairness for the U.S.;
  • identify countries to negotiate bilateral or sector-specific export market for U.S.-made products;
  • review current anti-dumping / countervailing duty laws to ensure that they adequately address stated goals;
  • the risks resulting from the de minimis exceptions to tariffs, particularly as they relate to importation of counterfeit goods and fentanyl;
  •  investigate whether any foreign country subjects U.S. person to discriminatory tax treatment; and
  • review the impact of all trade agreements — including the World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement, to ensure favoring of domestic workers and products over foreign competitors.

Directives Addressing Economic and Trade Relations with the People’s Republic of China. The President has directed the U.S. Trade Representative and/or the Secretary of Commerce, as appropriate to:

  • review the Economic and Trade Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”) to determine if the PRC is complying with the agreement, and if not to recommend appropriate actions to correct such deficiencies;
  • review the “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 consider potential additional tariffs – particularly with respect to industrial supply chains and circumvention through third countries;
  • investigate other PRC acts, policies, and practices that may unfairly burden or restrict United States commerce, and make recommendations regarding appropriate responsive actions;
  • assess legislative proposals regarding Permanent Normal Trade Relations with the PRC; and
  • assess the status of U.S. intellectual property rights such as patents, copyrights, and trademarks conferred upon PRC persons, and shall make recommendations to ensure reciprocal and balanced treatment of intellectual property rights with the PRC.

Directives Addressing Additional Economic Security Matters. The President has directed the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Defense and other executives to:

  • conduct a full economic and security review of the United States’ industrial and manufacturing base to assess whether it is necessary to initiate investigations to adjust imports that threaten the national security:
  • review and assess the effectiveness of the exclusions, exemptions, and other import adjustment measures on steel and aluminum to respond to threats to national security and make recommendations based upon the findings of this review;
  • assess and make recommendations regarding how to maintain, obtain, and enhance our Nation’s technological edge and how to identify and eliminate loopholes in existing export controls -– especially those that enable the transfer of strategic goods, software, services, and technology to countries to strategic rivals and their proxies;
  • review and recommend appropriate actions on connected vehicles, and consider whether controls on certain technology transactions should be expanded to account for additional connected products;
  • review E.O. 14105 (August 9, 2023) (Addressing United States Investments in Certain National Security Technologies and Products in Countries of Concern) should be modified or rescinded and replaced, and assess whether the final rule entitled “Provisions Pertaining to U.S. Investments in Certain National Security Technologies and Products in Countries of Concern,” 89 Fed. Reg. 90398 (November 15, 2024), which implements Executive Order 14105, includes sufficient controls to address national security threats;
  • assess any distorting impact of foreign government financial contributions or subsidies on United States Federal procurement programs and propose guidance, regulations, or legislation to combat such distortion; and
  • assess the unlawful migration and fentanyl flows from Canada, Mexico, the PRC, and any other relevant jurisdictions and recommend appropriate trade and national security measures to resolve that emergency.