The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security sent a final rule for interagency review that could revise the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariff exclusions process. BIS sent the rule to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs June 27.
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.
The U.S. and India announced a deal June 22 that will end India’s retaliatory tariffs on some U.S. goods while leaving in place the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs that prompted them, and also end six World Trade Organization disputes brought by both the U.S. and India.
American Iron and Steel Institute CEO Kevin Dempsey thanked Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo for continuing to enforce 25% tariffs on imported steel from most countries, authorized under the Section 232 national security rationale.
The negotiations between Europe and the U.S. to create an arrangement that would discourage imports of dirty steel, or steel made from uneconomic excess capacity, "have a long way to go," American Iron and Steel Institute CEO Kevin Dempsey said, speaking to reporters May 16 at AISI's general meeting.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and her counterpart from the EU, Valdis Dombrovskis, said their discussions on a critical minerals agreement and a deal to privilege green steel and aluminum trade were productive. It was the fourth time this year that Tai and the EU's top trade official met.
The top trade official in the EU, European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis, said a critical minerals agreement that would secure "FTA-equivalent treatment" under the Inflation Reduction Act incentives could happen within "a few months."
While the Section 232 tariffs increased domestic steel production by 5% and increased smelter utilization by about 15%, there was $3.4 billion less manufacturing across the most impacted metal consuming industries -- industrial machinery, cutlery and handtool factories; motor vehicle suspension and steering components; agricultural/mining/construction manufacturing, and metal fabricators, according to an International Trade Commission report.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The victories that countries won at the World Trade Organization over American steel and aluminum tariffs (see 2212090060) will only complicate the discussion on how to bring back binding dispute settlement, panelists said at a Washington International Trade Association event.
On the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the White House said that, beginning March 10, there will be a 200% tariff on Russian aluminum exports, including derivative products, and, beginning on April 10, aluminum articles from other countries that used any aluminum from Russia also will be tariffed at 200%, unless those third countries also impose 200% tariffs on imported Russian aluminum.