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Following a request from several influential members of Congress, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), issued a report in July on the administration of approved Section 232 duty exclusions for steel and aluminum. The review period was from March 2018 to September 2021. Various issues were discovered with the process by which the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) transmits data on approved exclusions to Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which is done via spreadsheets from which CBP must manually upload the data to the ACE system. CBP also stated that there is not an automated way for them to monitor exclusion usage against the approved total quantities allowed. CBP staff have to monitor the usage and manually deactivate an exclusion that has reached the total quantity limit. As a result of these issues, the GAO found that almost $32 million in duty exclusions were allowed by CBP for imports that had, in fact, exceeded the total quantities authorized under the particular exclusion.
In an appendix to the report, a review of the tariff rate and absolute annual quotas on steel and aluminum that are in effect from the European Union, Korea, Brazil, and Argentina revealed issues as well. CBP staff communicated that these quotas are very complex and laborious to administer, many of which were instituted without allowing adequate time for ACE to be programmed accordingly.
On February 11, 2025, the President issued a proclamation regarding the importation of steel and aluminum articles, increasing tariff rates to 25% from all countries. As part of that proclamation, it was announced that there would be expanded 25% tariffs to include key downstream products (derivatives) for both steel and aluminum. The Annex containing those products has been drafted and is expected to be officially published in the Federal Register on February 18, 2025.
Key Points:
• There are 167 new codes for steel downstream products (derivatives) subject to the 25% tariff referenced in this proclamation (covering 4 different chapters of the HTSUS).
• There are 123 new codes for aluminum downstream products (derivatives) subject to the 25% tariff referenced in this proclamation (covering 11 different chapters of the HTSUS).
To read the draft Federal Register, and access our Excel listing of HTS affected, click the links below:
For February, we are highlighting Jacquelyn Bakker, our CHB Manager in the JAS Chicago office. Jacqulyn started her career in the industry in 2012 in an accounting role before moving into the brokerage side in 2014. In her words, that’s when she “found my niche.” Jacquelyn joined JAS in 2018. After being named as the Brokerage Supervisor, Jacquelyn decided to take on the “daunting task” of obtaining her broker’s license. After 3 months of studying, Jacquelyn was able to pass on the first try! Jacquelyn manages a team of 6 entry writers in our Chicago branch and CHB manager. Jacquelyn is detail oriented and attentive to the needs of her clients internally and externally!
Jacquelyn has a 19-year old daughter, loving fiance and 2 dogs at home. She enjoys family time BBQing in the summer, taking the dogs for longs walks, playing Pokemon Go with family and seeing movies in the theater.
Jacquelyn is yet another great example that People Make the Difference!
CBP is leading global efforts in combating forced labor by imposing import bans on goods produced with forced labor. This has inspired international action, including the European Union’s adoption of similar measures and the inclusion of forced labor prohibitions in the USMCA. CBP’s actions have also driven labor reforms, notably in Malaysia, which launched a National Action Plan on Forced Labor and ratified an international protocol to combat forced labor. These advancements demonstrate CBP’s significant influence in shaping global supply chain accountability and driving positive change.
Read more about it by checking out the link below:
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