Section 232 Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum Frequently Asked Questions

For entries covered by an entry for immediate transportation, and with a country of origin and Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) classification subject to the Section 232 Presidential Proclamations, such entries shall be subject to the duty rates in effect when the immediate transportation entry was accepted at the port of original importation, pursuant to 19 CFR 141.69(b), which states:

Merchandise which is not subject to a quantitative or tariff-rate quota and which is covered by an entry for immediate transportation made at the port of original importation, if entered for consumption at the port designated by the consignee or his agent in such transportation entry without having been taken into custody by the port director for general order under section 490, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1490), shall be subject to the rates in effect when the immediate transportation entry was accepted at the port of original importation.

As noted in CSMS 18-000317, no drawback shall be available with respect to the Section 232 duties imposed on any aluminum or steel article.

Yes, TIBs are allowed for Section 232 dutiable merchandise. Please note that any bond posted must be sufficient to cover all relevant duties, taxes, etc., including Section 232 duties.

Per the Section 232 Presidential Proclamations, any steel or aluminum article subject to the Section 232 duties, except those eligible for admission under “domestic status” as defined in 19 CFR 146.43, and that is admitted into a U.S. foreign trade zone must be admitted as “privileged foreign status” as defined in 19 CFR 146.41, and will be subject upon entry for consumption to any ad valorem rates of duty related to the classification under the applicable HTS subheading.

Aluminum or steel articles shall not be subject upon entry for consumption to Section 232 duties, merely by reason of manufacture in a U.S. foreign trade zone. However, articles admitted to a U.S. foreign trade zone in “privileged foreign status,” shall retain that status consistent with 19 CFR 146.41(e).

No, in general, goods properly entered under Section 321 are not subject to Section 232 duties. However, any good subject to 232 measures that include quota restrictions may not enter under Section 321 and requires a formal entry.

Please note that a formal entry is also required if a shipment contains merchandise subject to AD/CVD. Goods subject to AD/CVD do not qualify for Section 321.

Per Presidential Proclamations 9704 and 10895, HTS 7616.99.51.30, 7616.99.51.40, 7616.99.51.60, 7616.99.51.70 and 7616.99.51.90 are subject to the Section 232 duties.

Only HTS Codes defined in the Presidential Proclamation should be reported for additional duty.

Yes. There is no exemption from 232 duties for imports with valid Chapter 98 claims.  A Filer can transmit up to 8 HTS codes on an entry summary line.  For more information on the proper order of reporting the HTS on an entry summary line, see CSMS 39587858.

Only HTS Codes defined in the Section 232 Presidential Proclamations should be reported with the applicable Chapter 99 HTS for additional duty or the applicable product exclusion Id number.

Please refer to CSMS 42355735 – Updated Guidance for Chapter 98 - Section 232 Imports of Steel and Aluminum.

Yes.

Section 232 duties may not be waived due to a Free Trade Agreement.

Yes, GSP and AGOA can be claimed on any goods that are subject to a valid Section 232 exclusion.  However, GSP or AGOA cannot be claimed on entries subject to Section 232.

The trade can search the weekly posting of active exclusions on cbp.gov to determine if a Section 232 approved product exclusion is active in ACE. The posting can be found at https://www.cbp.gov/document/publications/active-section-232-product-exclusions-ace

This list is updated every Friday. If your exclusion appears on this list, you do not need to send to CBP a request to activate the exclusion.

You can determine whether CBP has activated an approved IOR change by filing an entry with a Section 232 exclusion.  If you receive an IOR mismatch error, please contact your CBP client representative for assistance. 

“IOR MISMATCH” indicates that the importer of record (IOR) number used for the filing does not match the Importer of Record approved for the exclusion.  Contact your CBP client representative for any questions about the error. If you need to make any correction or updates to the approved IOR for the exclusion, contact the U.S. Department of Commerce, (202) 482-5642, Steel232@bis.doc.gov regarding steel exclusion requests and (202) 482-4757, Aluminum232@bis.doc.gov regarding aluminum exclusion requests.

For any request for changes to an approved exclusion or an exclusion application, contact the Department of Commerce directly.  Please call or email (202) 482-5642 or Steel232@bis.doc.gov for steel related inquiries and (202) 482-4757 or Aluminum232@bis.doc.gov for aluminum related inquiries.  For more information, see Section 232 Investigations (doc.gov).

An exclusion is generally valid for one year from the date of signature, or until the granted quantity has been exhausted (whichever comes first).

This error may indicate that one of the entry summary lines on the entry beginning with chapter HTS 72, 73 or 76 may be subject to Section 232 and/or 301 duties.  Contact your CBP Client Representative or your assigned Center of Excellence and Expertise for assistance.

For guidance on submitting approved product exclusions to CBP, please refer to CSMS 55844950.

The Automated Commercial Environment reports are available to importers and brokers to create an Ad hoc ACE Report to query information related to their imported merchandise to compare it with the kilogram total granted on the decision memo. It is incumbent on the importer of record to monitor and record the quantity imported under a Section 232 Product Exclusion so that they do not exceed the approved quantity. The exceeded quantity would be subject to the additional tariff duty or quota, as applicable.

For derivative steel, filers can report OTH for the country of melt and pour.

For derivative aluminum, the filer, as an interim solution, may report any country other than the United States if the filer does not know the country of smelt or cast. Importers may submit a post-summary correction to update the country of smelt or cast when they obtain information on the actual countr(ies) of smelt or cast. For a long-term solution, CBP is looking into other options for reporting an unknown country of smelt or cast. CBP will provide guidance through CSMS when more information is available.

No, there is no minimum amount of derivative steel or aluminum content provided for by Proclamations 10895 and 10896.

Where the product does not contain steel or aluminum content, but has a HTS classification that would be subject to Section 232 measures on derivative steel or aluminum articles if it contained steel or aluminum, ACE will still require the steel melt and pour or aluminum smelt and cast country to be reported.  

For such situations for steel derivative HTS classifications, where the steel country of melt and pour is required, report the country reported as the country of origin of the non-steel article as the steel country of melt and pour.

For such situations for aluminum derivative HTS classifications, where the aluminum country of smelt and cast is required, report “Y” for the secondary country of smelt, and report the country reported as the country of origin of the non-aluminum article as the secondary country of smelt code, and as the country of cast.

For all other fields, continue to follow the CATAIR including reporting on one entry summary line for non-Section 232 entries.

If a good has a HTS classification subject to Section 232 measures on derivative steel and aluminum measures, and contains steel or aluminum content, see CSMS # 64384423 and # 64384496 for reporting instructions.

Yes, filers can report less than 1 and decimals only two values after the decimal i.e. 1.10 or .01. Refer to the CATAIR - Tariff/Value/Quantity Detail (Input 50-Record) for additional guidance.

Example: 1.10 or .01

At this time, CBP does not require an aluminum certificate of analysis to be filed at the time of entry.  CBP, however, can request the importer to provide an aluminum certificate of analysis if CBP needs one to ensure compliance with the entry requirements pertinent to the item being imported. CBP reminds the importing community that it is the responsibility of the importer to exercise reasonable care when making entry and accurately declare all requisite information to ensure the proper classification of the imported merchandise for duty assessment. The party making entry must certify that such declared classification is consistent with the information and documentation that is provided with the entry and entry summary, which must be true and correct to the best of the importer’s knowledge and belief.

The value of the steel/aluminum content should be determined in accordance with the principles of the Customs Valuation Agreement, as implemented in 19 U.S.C. 1401a.  Thus, the value of the steel/aluminum content is the total price paid or payable for that content, which is the total payment (direct or indirect, and exclusive of any costs, charges, or expenses incurred for transportation, insurance, and related services incident to the international shipment of the merchandise from the country of exportation to the country of importation) made/to be made for the steel/aluminum content by the buyer to, or for the benefit of, the seller of the steel/aluminum content.  Normally, this would be based on the invoice paid by the buyer of the steel/aluminum content to, or for the benefit of the seller of the steel/aluminum content. 

When importing goods in sets for retail sale, pursuant to General Rule of Interpretation (GRI) 3 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), that contain articles subject to an ad valorem duty pursuant to Sec. 232 (19 U.S.C. § 1862), if the product that imparts the essential character to the set (i.e., the HTSUS subheading under which the entire set is classified) is subject to Sec. 232 duties, then the entire set will be subject to the additional ad valorem duty.

If the HTSUS provision under which the entire set is classified is not subject to Sec. 232 duties, even though the set contains components that are classifiable under Chapter 99 of the HTSUS, in accordance with an applicable Proclamation, then no additional ad valorem duty will be assessed on the individual components.

If the essential component of an article by which a set is classified is subject to Sec. 232 duties, then the applicable Chapter 99, HTSUS, classification number should be reported on the same entry summary line as the Chapter 1-97 classification with appropriate duty reported.

GRI 3(b) and 3(c) of the HTSUS provides for the classification of mixtures, composite goods of different materials or made up of different components, and goods put up in a set for retail sale. A group of entry summary line items represent a single article, known as a set, as compared to a conventional represented by a single entry line item. A set is made up of a single line item (known as the ‘Article Set Header’), followed by two or more line items (each known as an ‘Article Set Component’). Use the Article Set Indicator to specify the nature of the article reported:

• When not specified (i.e., space), an indication that the single Entry Summary Line Item represents a single article (i.e., not part of a set).
• When specified as ‘X’, an indication that the Entry Summary Line Item is part of an article ‘set’ and specifically the ‘Article Set Header’.
• When specified as ‘V’, an indication that the Entry Summary Line Item is part of an article ‘set’ and specifically an ‘Article Set Component’.

The classification on the Article Set Header Line Item is that deemed by the importer to represent the ‘essential’ character of the article. Report the set Article Set Header’s dollar value as the sum of the dollar values of all of the individual Article Set Components (i.e., the ‘parts’ of the set).