CBP Issues Guidance on Section 232 Tariff Changes

U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) issued guidance regarding the implementation of updated Section 232 tariffs on steel, aluminum, and copper imports following President Trump’s April 2 proclamation, “Strengthening Action Taken to Adjust Imports of Aluminum, Steel, and Copper into the United States.” 

The proclamation imposes updated duty rates of 10-50% on certain steel, aluminum, and copper products and their derivatives, effective April 6. These changes represent an overhaul of the previous Section 232 tariff structure, and previous guidance on breaking out metal values by percentage of the total product will no longer apply. The updated tariff structure is as follows: 

• Articles made entirely or almost entirely of aluminum, steel, or copper will be subject to a 50% duty rate. 

• Derivative articles made substantially of aluminum, steel, or copper will be subject to a 25% duty rate. 

• Certain industrial and electric grid equipment will be subject to a 15% duty rate through 2027. 

• Products made abroad but entirely composed of U.S.-origin aluminum, steel, or copper will be subject to a 10% duty rate. 

• Products made of 15% or less aluminum, steel, or copper will no longer be subject to Section 232 tariffs. 

CBP also noted that this proclamation does not supersede any existing trade agreements with the United Kingdom, European Union, Japan, or Korea regarding tariffs on these products. Additionally, all aluminum and aluminum derivative products from Russia will continue to be subject to a 200% duty rate. 

If you have further questions about how this will affect your duty payments, please contact Scarbrough for guidance. To view a list of all affected HTS codes, please click here. For additional details, please refer to the full CBP message.