Welcome to Industrials Regulatory News and Trends. In this regular bulletin, DLA Piper lawyers provide concise updates on key developments in the industrials sector to help you navigate the ever-changing business, legal, and regulatory landscape.
Sweeping new reciprocal tariffs. On Wednesday, April 2, President Trump held a press conference to describe and sign an Executive Order (EO) establishing sweeping “reciprocal tariffs” on nearly all imports to the US. Effective 12:01 AM April 9, the reciprocal tariff rates will increase from 10 percent to special, individualized rates, for the countries listed in the EO’s Annex I; any countries not listed in Annex I, or otherwise exempted, will continue to be subject to 10 percent reciprocal tariffs. Unless otherwise specified below and in the EO, these reciprocal tariffs will apply in addition to any existing tariffs, duties, or taxes. See our alert. You may also wish to register for our April 9 CLE webinar, Navigating the latest tariff announcements: Economic and tax considerations.
Record highs for Dr. Copper. Copper prices have reached record heights, climbing 30 percent this year. On March 28, copper futures on New York's Comex hovered around $5.13 per pound. Massive volumes of copper are being shipped to the US – reportedly, an estimate 500,000 tons in March, compared to normal imports of around 70,000 tons a month – over concerns that the essential metal will be hit with tariffs. The price gap between US copper futures and the London Metal Exchange global benchmark is widening, incentivizing traders to move the metal to the US. Copper prices are expected to keep climbing, also driven by rising demand from China and from Europe, which is building up its defense infrastructure, and by zooming demand for electricity generation. Copper is sometimes referred to as “Dr. Copper” for its track record as a global economic indicator.
US manufacturing shrank in March. US manufacturing shrank again in March, reports the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), a finding that has led Citi analysts to comment that the entire economy is likely slowing down. Input costs increased more than output prices and new order measures slowed. The Citi analysts stated, “The March PMI report confirms that some of the strength in manufacturing during early 2025 was due to some pulling forward of demand ahead of tariffs. With some tariffs already in place, manufacturing seems to have returned to contraction.” Notably, in mid-March, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stated that inflationary pressures due to tariffs may be “transitory,” a term which has since been repeated by Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee.
Executive Order rescinds Defense Production Act support for energy efficiency and clean energy manufacturing. On March 21, President Donald Trump issued Additional Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions, rescinding a Biden-era Executive Order that had allowed use of Defense Production Act (DPA) funds to support domestic manufacture of solar modules, solar module components, insulation, electrolyzers, fuel cells, and electric heat pumps. US manufacturers of those products are no longer eligible for federal support via the DPA. The DPA was enacted in 1950 to advance domestic production of strategically important products and materials, granting the President broad authority to expedite and expand the supply of materials and services from the US industrial base to promote national defense, including prioritizing contracts and offering incentives. During the Korean War, President Dight Eisenhower deployed it to establish a large defense mobilization infrastructure and bureaucracy. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, President Trump deployed it to galvanize the production of critical medical supplies. A June 2022 EO from President Joe Biden expanded the DPA to cover energy efficiency and clean energy technologies and authorized the Department of Energy to support their domestic manufacturing and deployment. Since then, US solar module manufacturing has expanded: in 2024, it passed 50 GW of annual nameplate module manufacturing capacity – just enough to meet domestic demand.
Pentagon nominee says he plans to reduce regulatory red tape and help industry. During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on March 27, Michael Duffey, the Trump Administration’s nominee for undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, said that should he be confirmed, he will review the controversial Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification 2.0 initiative and will aim to reduce barriers that stall industrial production and keep companies and private capital out of the defense industry. The final CMCC rule went into effect in December 2024, requiring defense contractors working with controlled unclassified information or federal contract information to meet one of three levels of CMMC compliance in order to be eligible to win DOD contracts. In his written responses to questions from committee members, Duffey wrote, “If confirmed, I look forward to reviewing the current state of DoD cybersecurity requirements for our industry partners and working to ensure we balance a need for security with the burdens of excessive regulation.” During the hearing, he stated, “I think there are two really critical metrics when it comes to measuring the success of our acquisition system. One is speed, and the second is capacity. Nobody beats us on performance and capability, but we need to accelerate speed and need to manage cost.” Duffey has been serving as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s deputy chief of staff since January.
Freight flows. The ripple effect of escalating trade tensions is affecting the freight flows that underpin the global supply chain. US commerce has experienced a surge in freight trucking activity as businesses hurried to move imports into warehouses and stores ahead of the April 2 tariffs. As of March 31, the Port of Laredo, the busiest US land port, has this quarter experienced a 48.5 percent year-over-year increase in trucking activity. Truck deliveries to North American distribution facilities for the top five retailers reportedly reached “unprecedented” levels in March, according to supply chain research firm Motive, which said that the last week of March saw the highest activity levels of freight trucking activity ever recorded. Notably, in Q1 2025, expectations about new tariffs were also affecting future flows: volume bookings to schedule future shipments in the near term have plunged, according to dock scheduling software provider DataDocks. Nick Rakovsky, CEO of DataDocks, stated, “What’s striking is how widespread the pullback has been,” adding “It’s not isolated; this is a broad-based softening across the entire network.” Beyond trucking, a vital artery of global commerce, the eastbound trans-Pacific ocean container lane that links Chinese exporters to US importers, is seeing lower rates and weaker volume, as reported by the Freightos Baltic Daily Index. On March 26, that index reported rates at $2,188 per 40-foot equivalent unit, the lowest since December 2023. Air freight, meanwhile, has also reflected global concerns this year. In January, for instance, the Europe-North America corridor saw a 9.7 percent increase in traffic year on year, which the International Air Transport Association states was possibly influenced by anticipatory shipping ahead of potential US trade tariffs.” International air freight traffic overall grew 3.6 percent year on year. Most observers of air freight are expressing caution about the future arising from Trump Administration trade policies.
Podcast: Securing your supply chain. This episode of DLA Piper's Better Contracts podcast series explores the role of contracts in securing supply chains amid current global challenges. Listen now.
Hyundai announces two new US manufacturing facilities. South Korea-based automaker Hyundai announced on March 24 that it intends to build a new auto manufacturing plant in Georgia and a steel plant in Louisiana to be used in vehicles manufactured by Hyundai for sale in the US (including electric and hybrid vehicles) – part of a projected $20 billion Hyundai investment in US manufacturing. In January, Hyundai Motor Company CEO José Muñoz stated that “the best way for us to navigate tariffs is to increase localization.” The new Georgia factory, dubbed Metaplant America, will employ up to 8,500 workers, and the Louisiana steel plant is expected to employ about 1,500.
EPA aiming to dismantle most major climate regulations and reduce staff by 65 percent. On March 12, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced that the Trump Administration intends to roll back most of the EPA’s major climate regulations. The announcements came in a rapid flood during the morning – 31 were issued via individual press releases in about two hours. This considerable rollback in the EPA’s regulatory reach will bring major changes to the agency and the country.
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