Reductions to Section 232 Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum Tariff Available

The Department of Commerce has issued a notice setting forth procedures for Canadian and Mexican producers of steel and aluminum to obtain reductions of Section 232 tariffs.

In October 2025 President Trump issued a proclamation imposing Section 232 tariffs (later increased to 50 percent) on imports of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and parts. That proclamation also authorized the DOC to reduce Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum by up to 50 percent for producers that operate facilities in Canada or Mexico, supply U.S. automobile or MHDV manufacturers, and commit to expand their production capacity in the U.S.

The DOC has now established the following requirements for eligibility for these tariff reductions.

– Only applicants that produce steel or aluminum in Canada or Mexico and that supply, directly or indirectly (through incorporation into parts), to U.S. producers of automobiles or MHDVs are eligible for tariff reductions based on new production commitments.

– Only new commitments from qualified companies that will expand U.S. primary steel (i.e., steel articles produced in a basic oxygen furnace, electric arc furnace, or any other steel-making furnace in the U.S.) and primary aluminum (i.e., aluminum articles produced in a smelter in the U.S.) production capacity for key products (automobiles and MHDVs and their parts) are eligible.

 – Only imports of steel and aluminum that qualify for preferential tariff treatment under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and that were melted and poured, or smelted and cast, in Mexico or Canada are eligible.

Any tariff reductions granted will be limited to (1) quantities of qualifying imports equal to the projected annual new production capacity and (2) a fixed period of time to be determined by the DOC.

The notice also establishes procedures for the submission and review of documentation substantiating new U.S. production capacity commitments. Once the DOC has determined that a submission is complete it will notify U.S. Customs and Border Protection of the date the tariff reductions will begin and the quantity of qualifying imports eligible for such reductions each quarter.