Section 232 Tariffs Extended to Hundreds of Steel and Aluminum Derivative Products

In an unexpected announcement Aug. 15, the Bureau of Industry and Security imposed Section 232 tariffs of 50 percent on additional steel and aluminum derivative products classified under 407 HTSUS numbers.

This change took effect with respect to covered products entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption on or after 12:01 a.m. EDT on Aug. 18 (even though the Federal Register notice officially making this change is not scheduled to be published until Aug. 19). There appears to be no exception for goods already on their way to the U.S. as of that time.

A list of affected HTSUS numbers can be found here in the official BIS notice. BIS notes that the Section 232 tariffs will apply to the steel and aluminum content of these products and that the non-steel and non-aluminum content of such products will remain subject to “reciprocal” and other applicable tariffs.

This change comes after the first iteration of a new process whereby BIS is accepting requests to extend the Section 232 tariffs to additional products during two-week windows opening three times a year at the beginning of each May, September, and January.

It appears that all products covered by these first inclusion requests have been added to the list of derivative products subject to Section 232 tariffs, with the exception of 60 HTSUS numbers that are subject to other ongoing investigations pursuant to Section 232 or other trade statutes. This suggests a similarly expansive approach in future iterations of the inclusion request process.

Click here for more information about Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum products. If you have questions or would like to discuss this action further, please contact ST&R.