U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued updated guidance on the processing of approved exclusions from the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum products.
In a Feb. 7 message CBP said importers are no longer required to provide specified information by email to activate approved Section 232 exclusions in the Automated Commercial Environment. CBP explained that it now directly processes approved exclusions based on weekly lists provided by the Department of Commerce and activates approved product exclusion IDs in ACE on a weekly basis.
CBP stated that a product exclusion ID must be on its list of active product exclusions before the importer of record or customs broker submits that ID on an entry/entry summary line. Importers can check the CBP website every Friday to determine if an approved exclusion is on that list. If it isn’t, the importer should check again the following Friday (since CBP receives approved exclusions from the DOC on a weekly basis and activates exclusions in ACE on a weekly basis, there will be a delay between the approval date and activation).
CBP emphasized that it will only process a product exclusion if the name of the importer of record is on the original exclusion submission request with DOC and matches the IOR name registered in ACE through the 5106 process; otherwise, the IOR will need to submit an IOR change request directly with DOC.
CBP notes that exclusions granted by DOC are retroactive to the date the exclusion request was posted for public comment on the 232 Exclusion Portal. To request a refund of Section 232 duties paid on previous imports of the same goods granted an exclusion by DOC and entered during the effective period of the product exclusion, importers may file a post-summary correction and provide the product exclusion ID in the Importer Additional Declaration Field (Input 54-Record).
If an entry of goods that qualify for the DOC-granted exclusion has already liquidated and is still within the protest period, importers may claim the exclusion by protesting the liquidation.
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