The US Congress returns to Washington after the Labor Day holiday to face a looming 30 September deadline to fund the government for FY 2026. This will almost certainly require Congress to enact a temporary continuing resolution to extend funding past that date to keep the federal government open. Both a continuing resolution or an omnibus appropriations bill will require bipartisan approval for passage.

Before the August recess, Republicans indicated they intend to act on another GOP-only reconciliation bill later this year to address items left out of the "One Big, Beautiful Bill Act" (OBBBA), with possible late fall enactment. Other areas that could see action in the fall include proposals on cryptocurrency tax issues and Taiwan tax relief legislation that was held over from the last Congress and that could be revived.

In trade news, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on 22 August announced that Canada would drop many retaliatory tariffs imposed on US goods to match US tariff exemptions under the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, to jump-start trade talks. Further trade negotiations among the two countries reportedly were planned for this week.

The United States imposed an additional 25% ad valorem duty on certain imports from India on 27 August, raising the total tariff rate to 50%.President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) on 6 August, titled "Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of the Russian Federation," imposing an additional 25% ad valorem duty on certain imports from India due to its indirect importation of Russian oil, but delayed its effective date until this week. Specific exceptions apply for goods already in transit. A Global Tax Alert on the EO provides details.