On February 10, 2025, President Donald Trump announced 25% ad valorem tariffs for steel articles, aluminum articles, and steel and aluminum derivatives (i.e., “downstream” articles) that will enter into force on March 12, 2025. These tariff actions use the initial Section 232 January 2018 reports and findings issued by the Department of Commerce (see
Section 232 Investigations
President Trump Announces “America First Trade Policy”
On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump released a Presidential Memorandum setting forth an “America First Trade Policy.” In the memorandum, Trump announces these trade actions:
- Directing the Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of the Treasury and the U.S. Trade Representative to “investigate the causes of our country’s large and persistent
CBP Publishes Proposed Rule to Limit Duty Exemption for Certain Low-Value Shipments
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On January 17, 2025, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) intended to tighten the de minimis duty exemption for certain low-value shipments entering the United States. Under the proposed rule, merchandise subject to specific trade and national security actions would no longer qualify for the de minimis exemption and…
United States and Mexico Act to Protect North American Steel and Aluminum Markets from Unfair Trade
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On July 10, 2024, the United States and Mexico jointly announced measures to protect the North American steel and aluminum markets from unfair trade. Both countries will implement policies to prevent tariff evasion on steel and aluminum and undertake efforts to strengthen North American steel and aluminum supply chains. These efforts are intended to prevent…
BIS Updates Section 232 Steel and Aluminum Tariff Exclusion Process by Removing 12 GAEs
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On May 17, 2024, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a Final Rule revising the Section 232 tariff exclusion process for imported steel and aluminum products. These changes, effective July 1, 2024, are intended “to refine the framework under which exclusions from the tariffs on steel and aluminum can be requested…
CBP to Deactivate Certain Section 232 Exclusions Upon Reaching 95% of Allocated Quantity
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On January 5, 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued guidance via its Cargo Systems Messaging Service announcing new thresholds for deactivating Section 232 steel and aluminum product exclusions prior to reaching 100% of the allocated quantity under any granted exclusion. CBP has announced that effective February 15, 2024, for certain types of Section…
EU Suspends Retaliatory Tariffs on U.S. Imports and U.S. Extends TRQs on Imports of EU Steel and Aluminum as Bilateral Negotiations Continue
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The temporary trade truce between the United States and European Union (EU) will continue after the EU issued a press release on December 19, 2023 announcing the customs union would suspend the reimposition of certain retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports until March 31, 2025. The EU’s retaliatory tariffs, which were scheduled to resume January 1…
U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Hear Section 232 Steel Appeal
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Posted in BIS, Section 232 (Steel)
On October 30, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear another Section 232 national security steel tariff appeal. On July 21, 2023, PrimeSource Building Products, Inc. filed Petition for a Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court, after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed the lower court decision of…
BIS Proposes Changes to the Section 232 Imported Steel and Aluminum Product Exclusion Process
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On August 28, 2023, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a proposed rule to revise the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariff exclusion process. The proposed rule responds to public comments received in response to BIS’s February 2022 Request for Public Comments. By proposing further revisions to the exclusion request process, BIS…
WTO Rules China’s Retaliatory Tariffs on U.S. Imports Inconsistent with International Trade Agreements
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In a landmark ruling on August 16, 2023, the World Trade Organization (WTO) determined that the retaliatory tariffs imposed by China on U.S. imports in response to U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs were inconsistent with international trade rules. The decision marks a significant moment in the long-standing trade dispute between the two major economic powers.