The Aluminum Association, in its weekly newsletter emailed May 24, said it had expected aluminum products that aren't subject to any Section 301 tariffs to be included in a new 25% tariff, but only 31 HTS codes will be covered (see 2405220072).
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is eliminating 12 general approved exclusions from Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum, it said in a final rule released May 17.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of May 6-12:
Section 301 China tariff changes outlined by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative May 14 will take effect approximately 90 days after a request for comments that will be issued next week. That includes a 100% tariff on Chinese-origin electric vehicles, as well as the jump to 25% Section 301 tariffs on steel and aluminum products, ship to shore cranes, lithium-ion electric vehicle batteries, battery parts for non-lithium-ion batteries, "some critical minerals" and face masks, and a bump to 50% tariffs on solar cells, syringes and needles, the White House said in a fact sheet.
Trade groups, companies and a union that represent the aluminum and steel sectors told the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative that they need more protection from import competition, by expansion of the scope of Section 232 tariffs, and by re-negotiation of the rules of origin in both trade agreements and the Section 232 exclusion for Canada and Mexico.
Sens. Catherine Cortez-Masto, D-Nev., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., would like to get a removal of the tariff on titanium sponge attached to the must-pass Federal Aviation Administration authorization bill. There is a 15% tariff on titanium sponge. Timet, a Nevada company, once tried to get quotas applied to titanium sponge imports through a Section 232 action (see 2002280047) and also had a failed trade remedy case; it no longer makes titanium sponge.
Canadian Solar, which is ramping up a 5-gigawatt solar panel manufacturing factory in Texas, told the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative that tariff rate quotas on solar cells under the current safeguard action and Section 301 tariffs on machinery that helps make solar panels and cells are harming solar manufacturers. Canadian Solar also is working on opening a solar cell plant in Indiana, but it won't open until late 2025. It imports cells made in Thailand. The TRQ only allows five gigawatts' worth of tariff-free cells in annually.
In the first third of its first public hearing on promoting supply chain resilience, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and interagency officials heard from groups disputing the premise of the project -- that liberalizing trade was harmful to U.S. workers and manufacturing -- and from those who say the worker-centered trade approach of the Biden administration is not going far enough to restore American manufacturing.
The Aluminum Association cheered the Mexican decision to apply tariffs to 544 tariff lines in aluminum and aluminum products. The tariffs are as low as 5% or 10% on some products, but are 25% and 35% on most.