Trump Tariffs & Trade October 2025

Key Justices Cast a Skeptical Eye on Trump’s Tariffs
The Supreme Court is considering whether the president acted legally when he used a 1977 emergency statute to impose tariffs on scores of countries.
(NYT) A majority of Supreme Court justices on Wednesday asked skeptical questions about President Trump’s use of emergency powers to impose tariffs on imports from nearly every U.S. trading partner, casting doubt on a centerpiece of the administration’s second-term agenda.
The outcome of the case, which could be decided within weeks or months, has immense economic and political implications for U.S. businesses, consumers and the president’s trade policy.
Several members of the court’s conservative majority, including Justice Amy Coney Barrett and Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, joined the liberal justices in sharply questioning the Trump administration’s assertion that it has the power to unilaterally impose tariffs without congressional approval.
Justice Barrett, who is seen as a key vote, questioned the scope of Mr. Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, which she described as “across the board.”
A Trump Supreme Court tariff defeat would add to trade uncertainty
Trump tariffs met tough scrutiny in US Supreme Court oral arguments
Analysts say chances rising of IEEPA tariffs being struck down
Trump officials to tap other trade laws to keep tariffs if court voids them
Any potential US tariff refund process seen lengthy and “a mess”

The Trump Administration Continues To Demonstrate Its Failure To Appreciate the Plight of American Farmers
China’s boycott of American soybeans may be resolved, but the episode exposed deeper, longer-term challenges that cannot be solved with a one-time bailout or a purchase commitment by foreign buyers that can be turned off at any time.
(Center for American Progress) President Donald Trump is touting his recent “deal” with China as a coup for American farmers. In reality, China is only promising to resume soybean purchases at levels slightly below those of recent years. What was more revealing was the administration’s idea to bail out farmers suffering from China’s boycott of U.S. soybeans, transferring money paid by American importers in the form of tariffs to support a sector devastated by its own policies. This would not have provided a lasting solution to rising input costs, industry consolidation, or many other challenges that have made farming so difficult and undermined key parts of the rural economy—challenges that predate President Trump’s return to the White House but have been made far worse by his administration’s disastrous foreign and economic policies.

30 October
US Senate votes to reject Trump’s global tariffs on more than 100 countries
Vote passes 51-47 in latest bipartisan effort to challenge tariffs, but House is unlikely to take any similar action
The vote comes as Trump is wrapping up a week in Asia, where he struck a deal with China to lower tariffs on Chinese goods into the country and get China to buy up US soya beans, a pain point of the trade wars that had farmers on edge, among other concessions.
U.S. Senate passes non-binding vote against Trump’s tariffs on Canada
(AP via Global) The U.S. Senate passed legislation Wednesday that would nullify U.S. tariffs on Canada, just as U.S. President Donald Trump is engaged in trade talks in Asia as well as an increasingly bitter trade spat with U.S.’s northern neighbor that is one of its largest economic partners.
The 50-46 tally was one of a series of votes this week to terminate the national emergencies that Trump has used to impose tariffs.
On Thursday, four Republicans joined Democrats in a 51-47 vote to pass a resolution against Trump’s global “reciprocal” tariffs. That came after a 52-48 vote striking down steep tariffs on Brazil on Tuesday.
While the resolutions won’t ultimately take effect, they have proven to be an effective way for Democrats to expose cracks between the president’s trade policy and Republican senators who have traditionally supported free trade arguments.

29 October
South Korea showers Trump with gifts as it works on a softer trade deal
South Korea dials up the flattery as both sides say progress has been made, but no deal has yet been signed
The United States and South Korea have advanced trade talks, addressing details of $350bn that would be invested in the US economy, after negotiations and ceremonies that included the presentation of a gold medal and crown to US President Donald Trump.
Both were gifts from the country’s president, Lee Jae Myung, who dialled up the flattery while Washington and Seoul worked to nail down financial promises during the last stop of Trump’s recent Asia trip.

28 October
Trump’s tariffs to face legal test before U.S. Supreme Court next week
Victor Owen Schwartz started a business importing wine and spirits to the United States with his mother nearly 40 years ago. His company VOS Selections, which he runs with his daughter, sells beverages from five different continents alongside American products.
Now he’s the lead plaintiff in a court case that could throw a legal roadblock in front of U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to realign global trade through tariffs.
“I was shocked that those with much more power and money did not step up,” Schwartz said Tuesday.
“So when I was afforded the opportunity to speak for small American business, I took it. I had to. It was a moral imperative.”
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments next week from businesses and states that say Trump’s use of a national security statute — the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 — to hit nearly every nation with tariffs is illegal

With Some G.O.P. Backing, Senate Votes to End Trump’s Brazil Tariffs
A handful of Republicans crossed party lines to side with Democrats in the first of several votes this week aimed at challenging the president’s trade war.
The Senate on Tuesday voted to terminate the 50 percent tariffs that President Trump has imposed on Brazil, with a handful of Republicans crossing party lines to help push through a measure rejecting the emergency declaration used to justify them.
While the resolution faces long odds in the House, where Republicans have taken extraordinary steps to make it more difficult to bring up such measures, the vote signaled bipartisan frustration with the president’s tariffs on most goods from Brazil, a country with which the United States has a multibillion-dollar trade surplus.
The resolution is one of three that Democrats have planned to bring up for a vote this week to challenge Mr. Trump’s moves to circumvent Congress and wage a trade war that many lawmakers are concerned will harm their constituents. Votes are expected in the next few days on tariffs the president imposed on Canada and a global tariff rate on more than 100 trading partners.

26 October
Bessent Says New Framework Deal Will Restart American Soybean Exports to China, Ease Trade Tensions
America’s treasury secretary says farmers should be pleased when the deal is announced later this week.

10 October
Trump ratchets up US-China trade war, promising new tariffs
US to impose 100% tariffs on November 1
Software export controls also to take effect
Trump: ‘No reason’ to meet Xi in three weeks
Rift between two largest economies leaves markets reeling
US stocks drop by most since April after Trump’s threat
(Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump revived the trade war against Beijing on Friday, ending an uneasy truce between the two largest economies with promises to sharply hike tariffs in a reprisal against China curbing its critical mineral exports.
The president unveiled additional levies of 100% on China’s U.S.-bound exports, along with new export controls on “any and all critical software” by November 1, nine days before existing tariff relief is set to expire.