The U.S. Department of Commerce formally announced its procedures for companies seeking exemptions from the Trump administration’s recently announced tariffs on steel and aluminum product imports. The department will start accepting exclusion requests on Monday, March 19, 2018 from U.S. businesses that use the metal in manufacturing cars, trucks, construction, food packaging, beverage packaging, or other commercial activities.
A company can ask the agency for an exemption from the tariffs if the product “is not produced in the United States in a sufficient and reasonably available amount" or is not of “satisfactory quality." They also can make an argument on national security grounds. The Department of Commerce anticipates receiving over 5,000 exclusion requests.
In unveiling the procedures, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross noted that this process “will allow the administration to further hone these tariffs to ensure they protect our national security while also minimizing undue impact on downstream American industries.”
Highlighted below are the key provisions in the product-specific exclusions process:
- Only individuals/organizations using steel or aluminum articles identified in the Administration’s Proclamations 9704 and 9705 and engaged in business activities in the U.S. may submit exclusion requests.
- The Commerce Secretary, in consultation with other administration officials, will evaluate exclusion requests and take into account national security considerations.
- Processing of exclusion requests typically will not exceed 90 days, including adjudication of objections submitted on exclusion requests.
- Exclusion requests will be posted for only a 30-day comment period.
- Companies in the United States may file objections to steel or aluminum exclusion requests and should provide specific information on the product that their company can provide that is comparable to the steel or aluminum product that is the subject of the exclusion request. These objections must be filed within 30 days of an exclusion application.
- Approved exclusions will be effective five business days after the approval is posted on www.regulations.gov and are not retroactive. Approved exclusions will generally be approved for only one year.
- Copies of the forms and additional information on the exclusion process are available at https://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/232-steeland https://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/232-aluminum.
- For questions concerning the exclusion process, contact steel232@bis.doc.gov or 202-482-5642 for steel-related queries and aluminum232@bis.doc.gov or 202-482-4757 for aluminum-related queries.
- The forms for submitting steel and aluminum exclusion requests, and objections to specific exclusion requests, are available on regulations.gov.
The product-specific exclusions are a separate effort from those by foreign governments to get waivers. Trump has excluded Australia and, at least temporarily, Mexico and Canada, and the U.S. Trade Representative is deciding which other countries should be spared from the tariffs.
For additional information, contact Stephanie Salmon, American Foundry Society Washington Office, at ssalmon@afsinc.org.