After years of complaints about the exclusion process for steel and aluminum tariffs, the Commerce Department is soliciting comments about how to improve it. Comments should include input on what should be on the request, objection and rebuttal forms; who should be allowed to request or object; the information published with the decisions and the factors for making a decision; how granular the product descriptions have to be; and whether there should be exclusions for downstream products.
Section 232 Tariffs
The United States currently maintains a 25% tariff on steel imports and 10% on tariff on aluminum imports under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. In 2018, the Trump administration imposed Section 232 Tariffs on steel and aluminum imports into the United States, citing national security concerns. The U.S. agreed to lift tariffs on Canada and Mexico after the signing of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), and reached deals with the European Union, Japan and other countries to replace the tariffs with quotas for steel and aluminum imports into the U.S.
CBP has assessed about $62 billion in duties under the major trade remedies started during the Trump administration as of May 13, according to CBP's trade statistics page. That includes $51.4 billion in duties from the Section 301 tariffs on goods from China, and $486.1 million in Section 301 tariffs on goods from the European Union. CBP also has assessed about $7 billion under the Section 232 tariffs on steel and $2.1 billion under tariffs on aluminum. The Section 201 trade remedies on washing machines, washing machine parts and solar cells account for $1.7 billion in assessed tariffs. CBP's statistics account for refunds provided to importers.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in an updated list of its priorities for a U.S.-United Kingdom free trade agreement, said it wants a “single, comprehensive agreement,” not a phased approach that resolves just “a subset of issues.” The Chamber released its list the same day negotiations began (see 2005050014) May 5. It wants the U.S. and the U.K. to eliminate all tariffs on industrial goods, to address non-tariff barriers in industrial goods, and for the U.K. to end what the Chamber calls “non-science-based restrictions on agricultural trade.” The Chamber also is calling for the administration to promptly remove Section 232 tariffs on British steel and aluminum.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of April 27 - May 3:
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of April 20-26:
The Commerce Department is proposing new regulations that would create an Aluminum Import Monitoring and Analysis System. Similar to the Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis System in place since 2005, the new scheme would require importers of aluminum or their customs brokers to submit information in an online portal to obtain an automatically issued license, then submit the license number with entry summary documentation. Comments are due May 29.
A steel and aluminum importer filed a lawsuit April 21 challenging the importer-specific exclusion process for Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum products as unconstitutional. Thyssenkrupp says the exclusions, which, unlike Section 301 exclusions, are only granted to the importer that requested them, violate the “Uniformity Clause” of the Constitution.
Some two years after the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum were issued, CBP realized its “previous guidance wasn't as clear as it could be,” a CBP official said during an April 16 conference call. That's why the agency recently updated its CSMS message on the subject (see 2004130056), he said. CBP expects “this will generate a lot of questions about individual Chapter 98 issues because Chapter 98 is huge,” he said. CBP said individual questions should be sent to the Trade Remedy Branch mailbox, traderemedy@cbp.dhs.gov, and CBP will compile the recurring questions into a Frequently Asked Questions document.
CBP updated its guidance on the Section 232 tariffs and Chapter 98 revisions in an April 14 CSMS message. The agency issued guidance in 2018 (see 1807060027) that said “Section 232 duties are assessed in the same manner as regular customs duties,” and that “goods eligible for Chapter 98 provisions that provide duty-free treatment are free of Section 232 duties.” That language was removed and replaced with language to say that while for valid claims “Chapter 98 treatment will be applied,” additionally, “Section 232 duties, under Chapter 99, will be assessed independently from any Chapter 98 treatment and in accordance with the applicable chapter 99 note.” CBP didn't immediately comment when asked for more information about the change.
CBP has assessed about $60.8 billion in duties under the major trade remedies started during the Trump administration as of April 8, according to CBP's trade statistics page. That includes $49.6 billion in duties from the Section 301 tariffs on goods from China, and $500 million in Section 301 tariffs on goods from the European Union. CBP also has assessed about $6.9 billion under the Section 232 tariffs on steel and $2.1 billion under tariffs on aluminum. The Section 201 trade remedies on washing machines, washing machine parts and solar cells account for $1.7 billion in assessed tariffs. CBP's statistics account for refunds provided to importers.