On March 8, 2018, the U.S. government announced a 10-percent tariff on imported aluminum and a 25-percent tariff on imported steel, excluding Canada and Mexico, for national security reasons.
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Under the new tariffs, “steel articles” are defined at the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) six‑digit level as: 7206.10 through 7216.50, 7216.99 through 7301.10, 7302.10, 7302.40 through 7302.90, and 7304.10 through 7306.90. “Aluminum articles” are defined as: (a) unwrought aluminum (HTS 7601); (b) aluminum bars, rods, and profiles (HTS 7604); (c) aluminum wire (HTS 7605); (d) aluminum plate, sheet, strip, and foil (flat rolled products) (HTS 7606 and 7607); (e) aluminum tubes and pipes and tube and pipe fitting (HTS 7608 and 7609); and (f) aluminum castings and forgings (HTS 7616.99.51.60 and 7616.99.51.70). Find additional HTS detail at hts.usitc.gov.
Following the tariff announcement, the government outlined the process by which individual companies can seek exemptions in a Federal Register Notice. Only companies doing business in the U.S. and using the steel or aluminum products listed may file for an exemption.
Requests will be evaluated on whether a product is produced in the U.S. of a satisfactory quality or in a sufficient and reasonably available amount.
Separate exclusion requests must be submitted for each unique steel or aluminum product import. For an exclusion request to be considered, the requester must provide a full factual description of the specific product, its properties and its quantity.
Both the exclusion requests and objection filings will be available for public viewing on regulations.gov. Processing exclusion requests will not normally exceed 90 days.
More information on the exclusion process, including copies of the exclusion form, is available at bis.doc.gov/index.php/232-steel and bis.doc.gov/index.php/232-aluminum.
For questions on the exclusion process, contact steel232@bis.doc.gov or 202-482-5642 for steel-related queries and aluminum232@bis.doc.govor 202-482-4757 for aluminum-related queries.
NTEA statement. NTEA is concerned with President Trump’s decision to enact a 25-percent tariff on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum. These tariffs will likely lead to increases in the cost of manufacturing many of the trucks, truck bodies and equipment our membership produces. Additionally, NTEA is apprehensive about possible retaliatory trade actions that could negatively affect the work truck industry. To the extent that these tariffs take effect, NTEA supports exemptions for Canada and Mexico and advocates for a permanent tariff exemption regardless of any NAFTA outcome.
Your NTEA team works diligently to ensure fair representation regarding all legislative and regulatory issues, and we will continue to keep you updated on this development as information becomes available. If you have any questions, please contact NTEA Managing Director Mike Kastner (mkastner@ntea.com or 800-441-6832).