Steel and Aluminum Imports 232 Tariffs
The Issue
On March 8, 2018, the President declared imported steel and aluminum to be a threat to national security pursuant to Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 following an investigation conducted by the Department of Commerce. He placed a 25% tariff on imported steel and a 10% tariff on imported aluminum.
- Countries covered by Section 232 Import Duties (as of May 20, 2019):
- Steel: All countries of origin except Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and South Korea
- Aluminum: All countries of origin except Argentina, Australia, Canada and Mexico.
- Countries covered by Section 232 Absolute Quotas (as of June 1, 2018):
- Steel: Argentina, Brazil, South Korea
- Aluminum: Argentina
Our Position
Imported steel and aluminum are not a threat to national security. These tariffs should be eliminated.
Status
On September 15, the USTR issued a statement announcing that it will remove the 10% tariff on aluminum imported from Canada retroactive to September 1st.
Commerce is accepting requests for steel and aluminum tariff exclusions. Separate exclusion requests must be submitted for each unique steel or aluminum product import. Exclusions that are granted are specific to the company submitting the request. In other words, if two companies import the same steel product, only the company that is granted the exclusion benefits from the tariff exclusion.
