USA to Modify Section 232 Measures on European Steel and Aluminum

The United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai and the United States Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo released a statement on Sunday, October 31st regarding a change in the existing tariff on steel products from the European Union. The current 10% tariff on aluminum and 25% tariff on steel will adjust to a tariff-rate quote (TRQ), effective January 1, 2022.

Key points in the TRQ arrangement are as follows:

Steel:
1. TRQ Amount is set at 3.3 MMT under 54 product categories and allocated on an EU member state basis in line with the 2015-2017 historical period. 
2. Derivative Products, as referenced in Proclamation 9980, from the EU will not be subject to Section 232 duties. 
3. Eligible products must be “melted and poured” in the EU according to current U.S. requirements and rules implementing this arrangement. 
4. The United States will maintain its exclusions process.
5. Section 232 steel products from the EU that are within-quota will enter free of any Section 232 duty while all Section 232 steel products entering above-quota will continue to be subject to a Section 232 duty of 25 percent, provided they are not subject to an exclusion as per point 4 above. 
6. The TRQ will be calculated for each year of the measure and administered on a quarterly basis. 
7. The United States will conduct annual reviews of the TRQ and adjust as required.
8. Starting no later than April 1, 2022, the United States will evaluate utilization and administration of the TRQ every three months and, at the request of the EU, enter into consultations to address any substantial under-use of the TRQ. 

Aluminum
1. TRQ Amount is set at 18 thousand metric tons (TMT) for unwrought aluminum under two product categories, and 366 TMT for semi-finished (wrought) aluminum under 14 product categories. The import volumes will be allocated on an EU member state basis in line with the 2018-19 historical period. 
2. Derivative Products, as referenced in Proclamation 9980, from the EU will not be subject to Section 232 duties. 
3. The importer shall provide a Certificate of Analysis for each aluminum product entered into the United States. 
4. The United States will maintain its exclusions process, as implemented under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, available for aluminum products imported from the EU. 
5. Section 232 aluminum products from the EU that are within-quota will enter free of any Section 232 duty, while all Section 232 aluminum products entering above-quota will continue to be subject to a Section 232 duty of 10 percent, provided that they are not subject to an exclusion as per point 4 above. 
6. The TRQ is calculated for each year of the measure and administered on a semi-annual basis. 

All impacted HTS codes can be found in the annexes of the action statement.

Please contact your local DSV Customs Brokerage rep with any questions.