11/03/2020

Trump Issues Presidential Proclamation to Update Canadian Aluminum 232 Tariffs

On October 27, 2020, President Trump issued a Proclamation on Adjusting Imports of Aluminum into the United States, which reinstated Canada’s exclusion from the additional 10% duties under Section 232 for certain non-alloyed unwrought aluminum articles.

As a result, non-alloyed unwrought aluminum classified under HTS 7601.10 and entered after September 1, 2020 will not be subject to the additional 10% duties.

Such goods entered prior to September 1, 2020 will still be subject to the 10% duties.

Please contact your V. Alexander account team with any questions and follow us on our website www.valexander.com for updates on this and other topics.

SECURITY NOTICE: This web post may include hyperlinks to websites outside of our internal control. All hyperlinks in this web post are believed to be legitimate and provided for your convenience, however, we cannot take any responsibility for the safety of outside links. We recommend caution as with any hyperlinks in any web post, and to hover your mouse over the links before clicking to insure the destination is as expected or to visit the sites by going to the main websites for the agencies we reference in your web browser and search for the sites for the mentioned topics from there.

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09/16/2020

USTR Reverses Itself and Revokes 10% Tariffs on Certain Aluminum Imports from Canada

Just last month, the Office of the United States Trade Representative imposed a 10% tariff on non-alloyed unwrought aluminum articles from Canada. In a reversal announced yesterday, the Trump administration says that it will resume duty-free treatment of such goods, retroactive to Sept. 1, 2020. The changes comes after Canada threatened to retaliate against $2.7 billion worth of imports from the U.S. beginning Sept. 15.

While the additional 10% duties will be removed retroactively as of September 1, 2020, officials cautioned that in the event actual shipments exceed 105% of the expected volume in any month, the USTR will …

• Impose the 10% tariff retroactively on all shipments made in that month;
• Expect that shipments made in the next month will decline by a corresponding
• May reinstate the 10% tariff going forward.

The United States will consult with the Canadian government at the end of the year to review the state of the aluminum trade in light of trade patterns during the four-month period and expected market conditions in 2021.

A copy of the full USTR statement can be found here.

Please contact your V. Alexander account team with any questions and follow us on our website www.valexander.com for updates on this and other topics.

SECURITY NOTICE: This web post may include hyperlinks to websites outside of our internal control. All hyperlinks in this web post are believed to be legitimate and provided for your convenience, however, we cannot take any responsibility for the safety of outside links. We recommend caution as with any hyperlinks in any web post, and to hover your mouse over the links before clicking to insure the destination is as expected or to visit the sites by going to the main websites for the agencies we reference in your web browser and search for the sites for the mentioned topics from there.

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08/07/2020

The White House Reinstates Section 232 Tariffs on Certain Aluminum Products from Canada

The U.S. is reinstating an additional 10 percent tariff on non-alloyed unwrought aluminum articles from Canada, effective for subject goods entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption on or after 12:01 am EDT on August 16, 2020. According to The White House, the decision to reinstate Section 232 duties was made due to recent data indicating the continued growth in imports of these articles from Canada, thereby threatening to harm domestic aluminum production and capacity utilization.

A copy of the White House announcement can be found here.

In the announcement, President Trump stated that “imports of non-alloyed unwrought aluminum from Canada, which accounted for 59 percent of total aluminum imports from Canada during June 2019 through May 2020, increased substantially in the twelve months following my decision to exclude, on a long-term basis, Canada from the tariff proclaimed in Proclamation 9704. Imports of non-alloyed unwrought aluminum from Canada during June 2019 through May 2020 increased 87 percent compared to the prior twelve-month period and exceeded the volume of any full calendar year in the previous decade. Moreover, imports of these articles from Canada continue to increase, reaching in June of this year the highest level of any month since I decided to adjust imports of aluminum articles in Proclamation 9704. The increase in imports of these articles from Canada is principally responsible for the 27 percent increase in total aluminum imports from Canada during June 2019 through May 2020”.

He further stated that the US “will continue to monitor the implementation and effectiveness of the measures agreed upon with Canada in addressing our national security needs, including with respect to imports of other aluminum articles.”

Please contact your V. Alexander account team with any questions and follow us on our website www.valexander.com for updates on this and other topics.

SECURITY NOTICE: This web post may include hyperlinks to websites outside of our internal control. All hyperlinks in this web post are believed to be legitimate and provided for your convenience, however, we cannot take any responsibility for the safety of outside links. We recommend caution as with any hyperlinks in any web post, and to hover your mouse over the links before clicking to insure the destination is as expected or to visit the sites by going to the main websites for the agencies we reference in your web browser and search for the sites for the mentioned topics from there.

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05/21/2019

CBP officially announced this morning in Message CSMS 19-000252 that effective for goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on May 20, 2019, the Section 232 duty on imports of steel and aluminum articles with a country of origin of Canada or Mexico will no longer be in effect.

These tariffs, which have been in place since March 2018, may signal a sooner, rather than later, passing of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

All three countries have come to agreement on how to monitor the trade of steel and aluminum.

According to the USTR, the agreement provides for aggressive monitoring and a mechanism to prevent surges in imports of steel and aluminum. If surges in imports of specific steel and aluminum products occur, the United States may re-impose Section 232 tariffs on those products. Any retaliation by Canada and Mexico would then be limited to steel and aluminum products.

This agreement is great news for American farmers that have been subject to retaliatory tariffs from Canada and Mexico.

At the same time, the Agreement will continue to protect America’s steel and aluminum industries.

Joint Statement by the United States and Canada on Section 232 Duties on Steel and Aluminum

Joint Statement by the United States and Mexico on Section 232 Duties on Steel and Aluminum

If you have any questions, please contact your V. Alexander account team.