Section 232 National Security Investigation of Steel Imports

President Trump advised under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 that he will enforce a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and 10 perfect on aluminum, with exemptions for Canada and Mexico, to protect our national security back towards the beginning of March 2018.

The President’s Section 232 conclusion was made due to an investigation led by the Commerce Department. Back in January 2018, the Department of Commerce provided the Section 232 reports on steel and aluminum to President Trump. Now, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection will start this new implementation to collect the tariffs on Friday March 23, 2018.

This new tariff on steel imports Under Section 232, imposed by President Trump, is set to provide a relief from duties for steel items determined “not to be produced in the United States in a sufficient and reasonably available amount or of a satisfactory quality and is also authorized to provide such relief based upon specific national security considerations.  Such relief shall be provided for any article only after a request for exclusion is made by a directly affected party located in the United States.”

The rules for individuals and companies seeking steel and aluminum product exemptions to the U.S. as noted under Section 232 tariffs, have been released and have already started accepting applications on Monday March 19th, 2018.

Steel and aluminum users that depend on imported products not available from U.S. producers may have to wait up to 90 days for an exclusion from Trump’s new tariffs, according to a Commerce Department document. As a result, consuming industries that must import products, such as high-strength steel rod to make tire belts which is currently not made from U.S. steelmakers, may have to pay the tariffs for the period before being granted an exclusion.

For any questions on how the new tariff proposal could effect your imports, please contact info@pngworldwide.com