The White House has issued a proclamation doubling the Section 232 tariffs for steel and aluminum to 50% from 25%. The increase was effective at 12:01 on June 4, so basically, this is effective immediately. Products from the UK will remain at the 25% level until July 9, pending a review of the UK’s compliance with the US-UK Economic Prosperity Deal. At that time, the 50% tariff may also apply to their products. Any goods with a release date of June 4 or later are covered by this proclamation. The President had announced his intention to raise the tariffs in a speech last Friday, but no official announcements were made until this proclamation late yesterday.
Also included in the new guidance are a couple of major changes to how the tariffs are applied. We may now report the steel or aluminum component of a 232-eligible product and apply the tariff only to that value. This is currently how component materials are handled for derivative items outside of chapters 73 and 76, but as of now, this mechanism applies to all steel and aluminum articles under the 232 tariffs. This requires that a component breakdown of both value and weight be provided, and the steel/aluminum and non-steel/aluminum components are reported on separate lines. Otherwise, the article is entered on one line, and the tariff applies to the full value.
The guidance covering the 232 exemption to the IEEPA/Reciprocal tariffs has also changed. If you are entering a product and using the component breakdown, the exemption will now only apply to the steel or aluminum component. The component on which a 232 is not applied is no longer exempt from the IEEPA/Reciprocals, so 9903.01.25 (for now) must be entered on this line.
Other than the mentioned exemption granted to the UK, no other country-specific exemptions have been announced. As we get further information, we will issue updates.
Best Regards,
Sam McClure, LCB
Director of Compliance & Customs Services