50% Section 232 Tariffs on 407 New Steel and Aluminum Derivatives Take Effect Aug. 18
Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum derivatives, currently set at 50%, will cover 407 additional Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheadings beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Aug. 18, the Commerce Department said in a notice released late on Aug. 15. The notice includes no exception for goods in transit as of the effective date.
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The new additions are the result of the Section 232 inclusion process for steel and aluminum tariffs that Commerce began in May (see 2504300031). They include goods of Chapters 4, 21, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, 38, 39, 72, 73, 76, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 94 for steel. The new aluminum derivatives cover goods of Chapters 4, 21, 27, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38, 73, 76, 83, 84, 85, 87 and 94.
In the end, Commerce only rejected 60 subheadings that were requested for addition to the tariffs. “BIS has decided not to include them as steel and aluminum derivative products at this time, because they are subject to other ongoing investigations pursuant to Section 232 or other trade statutes,” said Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, which issued the notice.
However, the new additions do include some auto parts. For example, subheading 8708.99.81, which covers auto parts not elsewhere specified in Chapter 87, is now included under the 50% tariff on steel derivatives, among other subheadings in the autos and auto parts chapter.
The notice also makes other “technical corrections.” One set of changes amends the HTS to reflect the requirement, already in place, that non-steel and aluminum content in goods otherwise subject to Section 232 tariffs is subject to reciprocal tariffs.
Commerce also replaced subheading 9401.99.9081 in the previously existing list of aluminum derivatives with subheadings 9401.99.9030 and 9403.99.9070, and replaced subheading 7302.90.00 in the existing list of steel derivatives with the six-digit subheading 7302.90.
Commerce’s initial announcement of the inclusion process said that the agency would allow inclusion requests three times annually. The next inclusion process is set to begin in September, with another to follow in January.
In all, Commerce received 58 sets of requests this cycle, receiving over 13,000 comments on the requests. Commerce said it will issue memoranda detailing its decisions on the requests in the same docket.