Steel and Aluminum Derivatives Open for *More* Additions (Somehow)

Sep. 16, 2025
By: David G. Forgue

Importers of steel and aluminum products can be excused (by the trade community, if not Customs) for feeling perpetually under siege over the last several months. In that time the mostly stable section 232 duties of the first Trump and entire Biden administrations have been turned on their head repeatedly, leaving importers scrambling to understand what is required.

Perhaps the biggest surprise in steel and aluminum has been the massive expansion of tariff numbers subject to “derivative” duty treatment. Just over 400 new lines were added in mid-August, resulting in industries that had not paid attention to 232 duties suddenly needing to sort out the treatment of their imports on short notice.

What too few importers realized was that there had been a (more or less) public process regarding potential additions. A docket was opened at regulations.gov, requests were posted and the public was invited to comment. It doesn’t appear that importers could have prevented additions, but they certainly would have had notice that their goods could be subject to 232 duties.

Now the Bureau of Industry and Security of the Department of Commerce is opening the inclusion process for next year. Assuming there are any articles that have somehow not already been included as derivatives, companies will have until September 29 to email their inclusion requests to the agency. After that deadline passes, the accepted inclusion requests will be uploaded to a docket and the public given two weeks to comment. Whether importers choose to oppose any inclusion requests or not, knowing they have been made could help avoid the mess that the August additions caused. Forewarned is forearmed, after all.

If you have any questions regarding 232 (any of them), the application of Trump duties to your products, or the proper tariff classification of your importers, the attorneys at Barnes, Richardson & Colburn, LLP are here to help.