We recently gathered a group of regulatory attorneys from across Reed Smith to provide a rundown of the key trends to watch for in 2025. If you missed the webinar, you can access the recording on demand.
Please see a short summary of our top takeaways below and look out for an invite to the next installment of this quarterly series – we hope you can join us!
Labor and employment priorities
- Keep an eye on employment agencies, such as the EEOC and the DOL, for scrutiny and walk backs of employee-friendly guidance implemented by the Biden administration, paying particular attention to workplace harassment prevention efforts and classification of independent contractors.
- Monitor the NLRB, which could substantially alter its union- and worker-friendly approach during President Trump’s second term, including the potential of undoing the McLaren Macomb decision, which held that broad confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses in severance agreements violate federal labor law.
- Stay tuned for potential updates to immigration rules and refocus on Form I-9 compliance, as President Trump’s campaign and transition statements forecast business immigration as a focal point.
Tariff investigations and enforcement risks
- No new tariffs (yet): Despite threatening to impose day-one tariffs, President Trump instead issued an America First Trade Policy memorandum on Monday (January 20), directing his administration to assess various trade-related levers that could be used to implement his new trade policy. Reports from the various secretaries are due in April. Since his inauguration, however, President Trump has also told reporters that he is likely to impose 25% tariffs on Canadian- and Mexican-origin goods, as well as an additional 10% tariff on Chinese-origin goods, starting February 1.
- Action could be immediate or involve notice and comment: Depending on which levers the administration chooses to pull, the implementation path will look different. Traditional statutory authorities like Section 301 and Section 232 typically involve a notice and comment period before remedies like tariffs are imposed. Alternatively, President Trump could declare a national emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and then impose tariffs in response to that emergency. Although IEEPA has never been used to impose tariffs, district courts are unlikely to enjoin this type of executive order since IEEPA grants the president broad authority to act in the interest of national security.
- Increased enforcement risks: Given that President Trump views tariffs as a way to offset budget shortfalls, importers should expect increased scrutiny from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, particularly on country of origin and valuation, as well as the scope of any antidumping or countervailing duty orders, which are determined by the text of the order rather than a particular classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States. Companies may also see an uptick in DOJ civil enforcement or third-party whistleblower actions under the False Claims Act, which further increases the risks of non-compliance.