Tariff Talks 2025: Expana's Weekly Rundown #6

Expana’s global team of specialist reporters has been tracking every twist and turn in the fluid tariff situation.

Click to read "Tariff Talks 2025: Expana's Weekly Rundown #6."

This report allows the Expana community to see where key commodity markets stand as of this past week... Click the above PDF report, or keep scrolling to read in plain text...

Tariff Talks 2025: Expana's Weekly Rundown #5

Expana’s global team of specialist reporters has been tracking every twist and turn in the fluid tariff situation.

Click to read "Tariff Talks 2025: Expana's Weekly Rundown #5."

This report allows the Expana community to see where key commodity markets stand as of this past week... Click the above PDF report, or keep scrolling to read in plain text...

Navigating the Trump Tariff Turbulence: A Comprehensive Timeline

US President Donald Trump and his administration have paused reciprocal tariffs on most countries.

“Based on the lack of respect that China has shown... I am hereby raising the [tariff] charged to China by the [USA] to 125%, effective immediately,” wrote Trump on Truth Social at 1:18 pm ET. 

It’s not clear if this 125% is in addition to the 20% imposed on Chinese imports to the US. In early March, Trump noted that he would add another 10% tariff on Chinese goods...

Tariff Talks 2025: Expana's Weekly Rundown #4

Expana’s global team of specialist reporters has been tracking every twist and turn in the fluid tariff situation.

Click to read "Tariff Talks 2025: Expana's Weekly Rundown #4."

This report allows the Expana community to see where key commodity markets stand as of this past week... Click the above PDF report, or keep scrolling to read in plain text...

‘The Tariffs Are All Set’: Trump Imposes 25% Tariffs on Canada and Mexico

It’s official. The US will implement a broad 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico on March 4. Trump also noted that he would add another 10% tariff on Chinese goods, on top of the initial 10% tariff he placed on the country in February.

“No room left for Mexico or Canada (to make a deal),” Trump told reporters at the White House. “The tariffs are all set. They go into effect tomorrow.

Trump said the neighboring countries had no chance for a last-minute deal that would...

Trump’s Canada-Mexico Tariff Timeline Shifts Again, Hints at EU Trade War

US President Donald Trump announced that tariffs on Canada and Mexico will be delayed until April 2 during a televised press conference with his cabinet.

This comes just days after Trump said the tariffs would be implemented at the start of March as the President continues to oscillate on the tariff implementation date involving the country’s neighbors.

Amid Trump’s comment regarding the April 2 tariff start date, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick added that America’s neighbors had to satisfy the president’s demands regarding border security and fentanyl crossing into the US border, suggesting that some levies could be enacted next week.

“It’s going to be hard to satisfy,” Trump said following Lutnick’s explanation.

Trump Signs Memo to Advance Reciprocal Tariffs, Aims to Balance Trade

President Trump signed a memorandum that could lead to the implementation of reciprocal tariffs on the trading partners of the United States.

“The ‘Fair and Reciprocal Plan’ will seek to correct longstanding imbalances in international trade and ensure fairness across the board,” per a fact sheet from the White House. “Gone are the days of America being taken advantage of: this plan will put the American worker first, improve our competitiveness in every area of industry, reduce our trade deficit, and bolster our economic and national security...

Meat Production in Germany Rises for the First Time Since 2016 

Germany's meat production increased by 1.4% y-o-y in 2024, totaling 6.9 million metric tons, according to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). This marks the first rise in production since 2016.  

Pork production recorded the greatest proportional increase, rising by 1.9% to 44.6 million tons, although still 24.9% below the 2016 peak. Production was also up in terms of the number of pigs slaughtered, by 1.2%, including a 1.6% rise in domestic origin slaughtered. The number of imported pigs slaughtered in German farms, on the other hand...

Workers at Spanish Pork Slaughterhouse Litera Meat on Strike

Employees at Litera Meat, one of Europe’s largest slaughterhouses, have continued to strike since December 10 after negotiations between the company and employees failed.

Litera Meat started operations in 2019, in Huesca, Spain, and has a maximum daily processing capacity of 32,000 hogs, and around 1,600 employees, the firm said.

It is also the largest processing facility owned by 

the Italian company Pini Group and can process more carcasses than all other Pini facilities across Italy and Hungary combined, according to company data.   

CNT worker’s union...

Mercosur-EU Free Trade Agreement Talks Concluded

After more than two decades of negotiations, the European Union and Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay) have concluded talks on a free trade agreement. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the development on December 6 during a summit in Uruguay. Ratification by all 27 EU member states is required to formalize the deal.

"It is the biggest agreement when it comes to the protection of EU food and drinks products,” according to the European Commission and "the agreement involves 25% of the global economy and some 780 million people..."