As importers respond to swift changes in the deployment of Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum (see 2506030071), they should continue to follow due diligence protocols for entry filing -- and that means even when CBP's guidance on additional subheadings for Section 232 steel and aluminum duties doesn't fully align with what's in official documents, such as the Federal Register, multiple customs attorneys told International Trade Today.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum promised unspecified retaliatory measures against the U.S. for doubling tariffs on steel and aluminum, unless a deal is struck between the two countries before next week.
CBP created Harmonized System Update 2521 on June 4, containing 73 Automated Broker Interface records and 35 Harmonized Tariff Schedule records. HSU 2521 includes Section 232 Aluminum and Steel tariff adjustments effective June 4.
CBP issued a pair of CSMS messages late June 3 clarifying the changes to the steel and aluminum tariffs.
Given an increase in Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum (see 2506030071), it may be less costly for importers to no longer take advantage of an exemption from tariffs on autos and auto parts for USMCA goods, according to a tariff expert at supply chain logistics platform Flexport.
Two Republican senators on the Appropriations Committee whose states have major foreign automakers' factories asked Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick if the administration would support an export credit for major auto exporters. Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., referred to the fact that about two-thirds of the Mercedes vehicles assembled in Alabama are exported, and asked if an export credit is still under discussion.
CBP listed new Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheadings as subject to now 50% Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum derivatives, in attachments to its CSMS messages issued late June 3 offering guidance on the tariff increase.
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President Donald Trump said that although the 25% tariffs on steel, and the recently hiked aluminum tariffs, have "helped provide critical price support" to domestic producers, the rates are not high enough to enable them "to develop and maintain the rates of capacity production utilization that are necessary for the industries' sustained health and for projected national defense needs." So those rates will increase to 50% at 12:01 a.m. EDT June 4.
Steel and aluminum and their derivatives will be subject to 50% tariffs, not 25% tariffs, President Donald Trump wrote in a proclamation. The changes take effect at 12:01 a.m. June 4.