What Happened This Month In International Trade (May 2026)

Another busy month in international trade news. Here’s the roundup:         

Courts  

• On May 12, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) issued a stay of the CIT’s decision finding Section 122 tariffs are unlawful. The stay suspends the implementation of the CIT’s order while the appeal proceeds. 
• On May 27, the Court of International Trade ordered CBP to submit a brief on why the agency should not be made to immediately refund all IEEPA tariffs, even on entries liquidated more than 90 days ago.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP)    

• CBP filed an updated declaration on CAPE processing and reported: 157,402 declarations have been submitted; $85 billion in both potential and certified refunds accepted; $20.6 billion in refunds have been completed.
• CBP published an updated list of error messages and definitions for Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE).  
• CBP updated its CAPE FAQ page with several new questions and answers, including guidance on whether importers should file with the Court of International Trade, how interest is calculated, and what the agency is doing to prevent fraud.   
• CBP is seeking comment on a new Client Representative Technical Assistance Portal that will provide the public with a method to inform CBP of issues impacting the Automated Broker Interface and ACE electronic cargo systems transactions. 
• CBP announced the agency is renewing its electronic export manifest pilot for air cargo for two years. CBP will continue evaluating the pilot to determine if it will improve capabilities. 

United States Trade Representative (USTR)    

• USTR published a Federal Register notice announcing that the U.S. will lower 232 tariffs (to 15%) on Taiwanese wood items and auto parts. 
• USTR held public hearings May 5 – May 8, 2026, regarding the Section 301 investigations into 16 economies’ acts, policies, and practices relating to structural excess capacity and production in manufacturing sectors. 
• USTR released its 2026 Special 301 Report on the adequacy and effectiveness of U.S. trading partners’ protection and enforcement of intellectual property (IP) rights. USTR identified Vietnam as a Priority Foreign Country and moved Argentina and Mexico from the Priority Watch List to the Watch List. 
• USTR is seeking submissions from domestic industries that benefit from the Section 301 tariffs imposed on China in July and August 2018.  

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 

• The FDA published a Voices blog, highlighting the progress the agency has made in implementing the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (MoCRA). 
• The FDA announced that it is piloting one-day inspectional assessments. These assessments will be shorter, more focused, and will complement existing standard FDA inspections.   

Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)    

• OFAC sanctioned six targets involved in a money laundering and cash smuggling enterprise operated by Cartel del Noreste (CDN), one of Mexico’s most violent drug trafficking organizations.  
• OFAC announced a $275M settlement with an India-based company to settle its potential civil liability for 32 apparent violations of OFAC’s Iran sanctions. 

Department of Commerce  

• On May 11, 2026, the U.S. Department of Commerce published the procedures for companies to apply for agreements with the U.S. government to reduce Section 232 tariffs on imported patented pharmaceutical products by onshoring manufacturing.  

Department of Justice (DOJ)   

• Two Canadian steel companies, along with their president, agreed to pay $19 million to settle allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by evading duties on flat-rolled steel from Europe and Asia.  
• Four of the world’s largest shipping container manufacturing companies and their executives were indicted for conspiring to restrict the output of standard unrefrigerated shipping containers. The conspiracy doubled the prices of standard shipping containers between 2019 and 2021.  
• Perfectus Aluminum and Perfectus Aluminum Acquisitions, along with four affiliated warehousing companies, agreed to pay $549.5 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations that they evaded antidumping duty and countervailing duty orders on aluminum extrusions from China.   

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF)  

• ATF published a Federal Register Notice seeking comment on removing proscribed countries from which ATF denies applications to permanently import defense articles and updating it to reference a State Department list. The rule also proposes to remove the list of former Soviet countries for which ATF denies applications. Comments are due July 6, 2026. 

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) 

• The FCC is proposing to prohibit the recognition of electronic device test labs and certification bodies in foreign countries that haven’t signed reciprocity agreements to recognize their American counterparts.  

International  

• Vietnam has ordered a nationwide crackdown on intellectual property infringement following USTR’s April 30 decision to designate Vietnam a “Priority Foreign Country” on intellectual property rights in an annual report.  
• Canada announced a $1.5 billion program to protect domestic industries from U.S. tariffs on steel, aluminum, and copper. 
• The European Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional deal that would clear the way for final adoption of regulations to eliminate the EU’s remaining customs duties on U.S. industrial goods, as agreed upon in the EU-US trade deal from August 2025.

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