Biden Adjusts Steel and Aluminum Tariffs for EU

Jan. 4, 2022

On December 27, 2021 the White House issued a proclamation modifying Proclamation 9705 of March 8, 2018 (Adjusting Imports of Steel Into the United States) and a proclamation modifying Proclamation 9704 of March 8, 2018 (Adjusting Imports of Aluminum Into the United States). Originally, these proclamations called for a 25% tariff on steel articles and a 10% tariff on aluminum articles imported from any country except Canada and Mexico. Now the President has announced that after a successful dialog with the EU, the U.S. will apply a tariff-rate quotas (TRQ) that allow for a specified amount of steel and aluminum articles to be imported from the EU without the application of the additional tariffs.

According to the recent proclamations, the United States and the EU have agreed to “expand coordination involving trade remedies and customs matters, monitor bilateral steel and aluminum trade, cooperate on addressing non-market excess capacity, and annually review their arrangement for alternative means and their ongoing cooperation.” As a result of these discussions, the U.S. will implement a tariff-rate quota that restricts the quantity of steel and aluminum articles imported into the US without the application of the respective 25% and 10% tariffs.

These TQR opened January 3, 2021. The quota volumes specified are 3.3 million metric tons of steel and 18,000 metric tons of unwrought aluminum and 366,040 metric tons of semi-finished wrought aluminum. To be eligible for the TQR, the steel articles must be melted and poured in the EU and the aluminum articles must be accompanied by a certificate of analysis. Guidance from CBP on these TRQ provides that details on the melt and pour requirement for steel will be provided when they are available. For steel articles, all exclusions that were granted by the Department of Commerce due to a lack of domestic availability will be renewed for 2 calendar years and will not count against in-quota volume. However, for aluminum articles exclusions granted pursuant to clause 3 of Proclamation 9704, as amended, will count against the in-quota volume.

CBP also provided additional information about the administration of the quotas. For steel, the TRQ will be administered quarterly, with each quarter assigned 25% of the annual quota amount. For aluminum, CBP will manage the TRQ bi-annually and the first half of the year will comprise 60% of the overall quota. CSMS# 18-000249 and CSMS# 18-000240 provide details for preparing entries of steel and aluminum under the TRQ including the appropriate classification and entry summary instructions.

If you have questions relating to regarding the application of the new tariff-rate quotas please contact an attorney at Barnes, Richardson & Colburn LLP.