Section 232 Tariffs On Steel & Aluminum

Presidential Proclamation on Adjusting Imports of Aluminum

Antidumping and countervailing duty actions can address specific instances of unfairly traded steel products. While these measures have reduced the harm caused by unfairly traded imports for the specific steel products for which U.S. industry has sought relief, because of their limited Presidential Proclamation on Adjusting Imports of Aluminum scope, antidumping and countervailing duty remedies are not able to resolve the broader structural economic harm to the U.S. steel industry caused by massive global overcapacity and unfair foreign competition. The potential ripple effects from the tariffs could be significant.

Presidential Proclamation on Adjusting Imports of Aluminum

The U.S. Department of Commerce response to an exclusion request will also be responsive to any of the objection, rebuttal and surrebuttal for that submitted exclusion request submitted through the 232 Exclusions Portal. Similar to the exclusions process identified under paragraph of this supplement and the objection process identified under paragraph of this supplement, the rebuttal process requires the submission of a government form as specified in paragraph of this supplement. Each rebuttal is to be limited to a maximum of 2,500 words, inclusive of all exhibits and attachments, but exclusive of the rebuttal form and any CBI provided to the U.S. Shall state that national security classified information will be presented and that the hearing will be open only to those persons having appropriate security clearances or otherwise specifically authorized to have access to such information.

Freedom Of Information Act Requirements

Congress may explore the long-term economic consequences of the tariffs on U.S. domestic industry, including steel and aluminum producers, downstream manufacturers, and those sectors targeted by retaliatory tariffs. Impacts may include increased prices and costs for steel and aluminum producers and users, respectively; changes in workforce levels; shifts in global supply chains as firms seek to avoid tariffs; and potential loss of foreign markets for domestic producers facing retaliatory tariffs. The response by other countries can have implications for the U.S. economy and multilateral world trading system.

Although tariffs were initially imposed on most trading partners, including many allies and FTA partners, the President expressed a willingness to consider exceptions to individual countries, specifically stating that countries with which the United States has a “security relationship” may discuss “alternative ways” to address the national security threat and gain an exemption from the tariffs. Initially, the President temporarily excluded imports of steel and aluminum products from Mexico and Canada from the new tariffs, and the Administration implicitly and explicitly linked a successful outcome of the North American Free Trade Agreement renegotiation to maintaining the exemptions. With regard to other countries, the President charged the USTR with negotiating bilaterally with trading partners on potential exemptions. As specified in this proclamation, I may re‑impose the tariff proclaimed in Proclamation 9704 on imports of non-alloyed unwrought aluminum from Canada in the event that the volume of imports of these articles from Canada in the remaining months of 2020 exceeds the quantities that the United States expects will be exported from Canada to the United States during this period. The United States and Canada expect to hold further consultations in December 2020 to discuss the state of aluminum trade between the two countries in light of trade patterns in the last 4 months of 2020 and expected market conditions in 2021. Based on the Secretary’s assessments, I have concluded that it is necessary and appropriate in light of our national security interests to adjust the tariffs imposed by previous proclamations to apply to the derivatives of aluminum articles and steel articles described in Annex I and Annex II to this proclamation. This action is necessary and appropriate to address circumvention that is undermining the effectiveness of the adjustment of imports made in Proclamation 9704 and Proclamation 9705, as amended, and to remove the threatened impairment of the national security of the United States found in those proclamations.

Presidential Proclamation on Adjusting Imports of Aluminum

This prototype edition of the daily Federal Register on FederalRegister.gov will remain an unofficial informational resource until the Administrative Committee of the Federal Register issues a regulation granting it official legal status. For complete information about, and access to, our official publications and services, go to About the Federal Register on NARA’s archives.gov. The President of the United States communicates information on holidays, commemorations, special observances, trade, and policy through Proclamations.

Latest Section 301 Product Exclusions

According to the statute, any portion of the report that does not contain classified or proprietary information must be published in the Federal Register. Section 232 has been used periodically in response to industry petitions, as well as through self-initiation by the executive branch. The Trade Expansion Act establishes a clear process and timelines for a Section 232 investigation, but the executive branch’s interpretation of “national security” and the potential scope of any investigation can be expansive. The most recent May 31 proclamations continued tariff exemptions for imports from Brazil, Argentina, and https://accountingcoaching.online/ South Korea, as those countries negotiated quotas restricting steel and aluminum exports to the U.S. The Proclamations announced the aggregate limits of imports from Argentina and Brazil, while the administration previously announced specific quota amounts for steel products from South Korea on April 30, 2018. The only country exempted from the tariffs and not subject to quotas is Australia. The objection should clearly identify, and provide support for, its opposition to the proposed exclusion, with reference to the specific basis identified in, and the support provided for, the submitted exclusion request.

  • Surrebuttals must address a rebuttal to an objection to the exclusion request made by the requester.
  • Thus, even if the United States or one of its trading partners prevails in a dispute over the Section 232 or retaliatory tariffs, there are significant doubts as to whether the ruling would be enforceable under WTO procedures.
  • This domestic production capacity is used to provide the essential inputs of aluminum and steel used in derivative aluminum articles and derivative steel articles.
  • See American Iron and Steel Institute, “AISI Urges Administration to Designate Steel as Essential Industry,” March 20, 2020, and Aluminum Association, “American Aluminum an Essential Industry in a Moment of National Emergency,” March 19, 2020.
  • This investigation will help ensure steel import issues do not make us less safe in a world that is increasingly fraught with geopolitical tensions.
  • Commerce Department to initiate an investigation into the national security implications of steel imports and aluminum imports into the United States.
  • The portal may provide greater transparency of 232 submission documents, but does not necessarily impact Commerce’s decision-making process.

Government as warranted, to make determinations whether a particular exclusion request should be approved based on specific national security considerations. For an aluminum example, if a U.S. business activity requires that aluminum to be provided must meet certain military testing and military specification standards in order to be used in military aircraft, that requirement would be taken into account when reviewing the exclusion request and any objections, rebuttals, and surrebuttals submitted. Another aluminum example would be a U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturer that requires approval from the Food and Drug Administration to make any changes in its aluminum product pill bottle covers. An objector would not have to make aluminum for use in making the product covers that was identical, but it would have to be a “substitute product,” meaning it could meet the FDA certification standards. If the President concurs, the nature and duration of the action that must be taken to adjust the imports of the article and its derivatives so that the such imports will not threaten to impair the national security.

Steel And Aluminum Products:

The stated goals include protecting domestic industry by boosting American steel and aluminum manufacturers, and addressing the practice of “dumping” excess steel into the global market at artificially low prices. Rather than an across-the-board tariff regime, however, the tariff orders provide major US trading partners with some latitude.

As noted, China has also alleged that the United States’ imposition of steel and aluminum tariffs violated the WTO Safeguards Agreement, which lacks an exception for national security interests. This report does not analyze whether the United States could invoke the GATT’s national security exception to justify a violation of the Safeguards Agreement. To amend Sec. 232 and other trade authorities to require congressional approval of unilateral trade actions. Both measures would require the President to report to Congress on the proposed trade action and provide an analysis of its economic impact, and Congress would need to pass a resolution before the action would go into effect.

Economic Impacts

Steel articles will be subject to an ad valorem duty rate of 50%. SmarTrade is a resource for businesses of all sizes that need information and insight to successfully navigate the global economy. Our team closely monitors trade-related news and updates this blog frequently to provide timely, client-focused summaries of critical trade-related activities, developments and trends. Any provision of previous proclamations and Executive Orders that is inconsistent with the actions taken in this proclamation is superseded to the extent of such inconsistency. EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients.

Aluminum articles from a member country of the EU imported under an exclusion granted pursuant to clause 3 of Proclamation 9704, as amended, shall count against the in-quota volume of the tariff-rate quota established in clause 1 of this proclamation. Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports have now been in place for over two years and have no statutory expiration.

Presidential Proclamation on Adjusting Imports of Aluminum

For example, see letters from Reps. H. Rogers, Kaptur, Guthrie, Comer, M. Rogers, Barr, Aderholt, Johnson, Gonzalez and Gibbs to President Trump, February 7, 2020, and from Sen. Toomey to Secretary Ross, February 5, 2020, related to exclusion requests from Allegheny Technologies Incorporated . To provide trade adjustment assistance to firms affected by retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports in response to Sec. 232 actions. To provide trade adjustment assistance to farmers affected by retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports in response to Sec. 232 actions.

A Proclamation On Adjusting Imports Of Aluminum Into The United States

While the United States has extensive antidumping and countervailing duties on Chinese steel imports to counter China’s unfair trade practices, steel industry and other experts argue that the magnitude of Chinese production acts to depress prices globally. The George W. Bush, Obama, and Trump Administrations have each engaged in multilateral discussions to address global steel capacity reduction through the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and other international forums. In addition, once the duties take effect, companies will be allowed to petition the Commerce Department for product-specific exemptions. There will be a mechanism for an “affected party located in the United States” to apply for exclusion of specific products based on demand that is not met by domestic production or on specific national security considerations. Exclusions may be granted for “any aluminum article determined not to be produced in the United States in a sufficient and reasonably available amount or of a satisfactory quality” or “based upon specific national security considerations.”The procedures for exemption requests are expected to be issued by March 19. On January 19, 2018, the Secretary of Commerce transmitted to me a report on his investigation into the effect of imports of aluminum articles on the national security of the United States under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1862). The Secretary found and advised me of his opinion that aluminum articles were being imported into the United States in such quantities and under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security of the United States.

For the time being, however, the protocols outlined in this bulletin will govern any exclusion request. Examples of what criteria may warrant a shorter exclusion validity period. Objectors are encouraged to provide their suggestions for how long they believe an appropriate validity period should be for an exclusion request.

  • The exclusion review criterion “or for specific national security considerations” is intended to allow the U.S.
  • In addition, the United States and the EU will seek to conclude, by October 31, 2023, negotiations on global steel and aluminum arrangements to restore market-oriented conditions and support the reduction of carbon intensity of steel and aluminum across modes of production.
  • For complete information about, and access to, our official publications and services, go to About the Federal Register on NARA’s archives.gov.
  • For the full text of the proclamation Adjusting Imports of Aluminum click …
  • If an exclusion request’s 30-day comment period in the 232 Exclusions Portal has expired and no objections have been submitted, BIS will immediately assess the request for any national security concerns.

Exclusions will generally be approved for one year from the date of the signature on the decision memo, but may be valid for shorter or longer than one year depending on the specifics of the exclusion request; any objections filed; and analysis by the U.S. Government, as warranted, of the current supply and demand in the United States, including any limitations or other factors that the Department determines should be considered in order to achieve the national security objectives of the duties and quantitative limitations. Not produced in the United States in a sufficient and reasonably available amount. The exclusion review criterion “Not produced in the United States in a sufficient and reasonably available amount” means that the amount that is needed by the end user requesting the exclusion is not available immediately in the United States to meet its specified business activities. Available “immediately” means that a product can be delivered by a U.S. producer “within eight weeks”, or, if that is not possible, by a date earlier than the time required for the requester to obtain the entire quantity of the product from the requester’s foreign supplier. Furthermore, to the extent that an objector can produce and deliver a portion, which is less than 100 percent, but ten percent or more, of the amount of steel or aluminum needed in the business activities of the user in the United States described in the exclusion request, the Department of Commerce may deny a requested exclusion for that percentage of imported steel or aluminum.

U S Presidential Proclamation

For aluminum, both domestic and import prices have drifted lower in 2019 after peaking in mid-2018, but import prices have fallen at a faster rate, declining by 7.9% to December 2019, compared with 2.8% for domestic prices . Congress enacted Section 232 during the Cold War when national security issues were at the forefront of national debate.

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  • In addition, once the duties take effect, companies will be allowed to petition the Commerce Department for product-specific exemptions.
  • If Canada agrees to all of President Trump’s NAFTA renegotiation demands, then and only then will Canada be viewed as not a threat to the national security of the United States.
  • While American steel and aluminum manufacturers could get a boost, other sectors of American manufacturing might have to contend with the rising cost of importing raw materials if there is not enough domestic supply to meet surging demands.

Canada and Mexico removed retaliatory tariffs affecting approximately $15.5 billion of U.S. annual exports after the Trump Administration exempted both countries from Section 232 tariffs in May 2019. U.S. exports are estimated using partner country import data in order to match trade values with retaliatory tariff lists. Steel Manufacturing, by Michaela D. Platzer, for a related discussion on the domestic steel industry.

It is incumbent on both the exclusion requester, and objecting producers, to provide supplemental evidence supporting their claimed delivery times. This requirement includes specifying in writing to Department of Commerce as part of the objection, the timeline the objector anticipates in order to start or restart production of the steel included in the exclusion request to which it is objecting. For example, a summary timeline that specifies the steps that will occur over the weeks needed to produce that steel or aluminum would be helpful to include, not only for the Department of Commerce review of the objection, but also for the requester of the exclusion and its determination whether to file a rebuttal to the objection. The U.S. Department of Commerce understands that, in certain cases, regulatory approvals, such as from the Environmental Protection Agency or some approvals at the state or local level, may be required to start or restart production and that some of these types of approvals may be outside the control of an objector. In proclaiming this tariff, I recognized that our Nation has important security relationships with some countries whose exports of aluminum articles to the United States weaken our internal economy and thereby threaten to impair the national security. I also recognized our shared concern about global excess capacity, a circumstance that is contributing to the threatened impairment of the national security.

The Secretary shall immediately provide notice to the Secretary of Defense of any investigation initiated under this part. Heather is a strategic negotiator and effective business communicator having worked with governments, institutions and corporations in North America, Asia, the Middle East, South America, Africa and Europe. Cyndee Todgham Cherniak is the founding lawyer of LexSage, a boutique international trade law and sales tax firm in Toronto, Ontario. She has practiced for almost 20 years at Canada’s top Bay Street law firms.

The TRQ process will also apply to imports of derivative steel and aluminum articles previously identified under Proclamation 9980. The United States has successfully concluded discussions with the EU on behalf of its member countries on satisfactory alternative means to address the threatened impairment of the national security posed by aluminum articles imports from the EU. The United States and the EU have agreed to expand coordination involving trade remedies and customs matters, monitor bilateral steel and aluminum trade, cooperate on addressing non-market excess capacity, and annually review their arrangement and their ongoing cooperation. In addition, the United States and the EU will seek to conclude, by October 31, 2023, negotiations on global steel and aluminum arrangements to restore market-oriented conditions and support the reduction of carbon intensity of steel and aluminum across modes of production. Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports into the United States raise a number of issues for Congress. The economic repercussions of U.S. and foreign actions may be felt not only by domestic steel and aluminum producers, but by downstream manufacturers or other industries targeted for retaliation, and consumers.

Steel

CBP issues binding advance rulings and other legal decisions in connection with the importation of merchandise into the United States. Advance rulings provide the international trade community with a transparent and efficient means of understanding how CBP will treat a prospective import or carrier transaction. As the IOR, if you have a pending product exclusion request with USTR and you are concerned that a corresponding entry may liquidate before USTR renders a decision on the exclusion request, you may request an extension of the liquidation deadline, Section 10.3 of the ACE Entry Summary Business Process Document, available at /document/guides/ace-entry-summary-business-process. The Office of the United States Trade Representative initiated an investigation, on August 18, 2017, under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 into the government of China’s acts, policies, and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation.