May 31, 2018 – Tonight at midnight, the temporary exemptions from US tariffs on steel and aluminum will expire for Canada, Mexico, and the European Union.
The tariffs were originally imposed on March 8, 2018. Canada, the US and the EU (amongst others) were given a temporary exemption which expired on April 30, 2018, and was later extended until May 31, 2018. At the time, President Trump indicated that the exceptions could become permanent upon a successful renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Exemptions have been sustained for Argentina, Australia, and Brazil.
Details:
- The increases directly add a 25% ad valorem duty to steel imports and a 10% ad valorem duty to aluminum imports but are expected to indirectly affect the larger US steel and aluminum commodity markets.
- The increases were enacted through Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. It provides the authority in any case that national security is threatened due to a damaged or degrading industrial base, a criterion which was intentionally left broad.
- To view the full list of tariffs affected by this change, see the links on our website.
- Please see the full statement on the US Customs and Border Protection website.
In addition to the tariffs applied by the US, countermeasures in the form of retaliatory tariffs have been enacted from Canada and Mexico on steel, as well as a wide variety of other items.
Buckland’s International Trade Compliance & Consulting services team are available to help you. We welcome you to reach out to us to help you mitigate the impact of these new tariffs.
Buckland is pleased to share this update and we hope that this information will be useful and beneficial. As a customer-focused company, we provide you with a single source of unmatched Customs Brokerage (Canadian, US, Mexican), Trade Managed Solutions, Freight Forwarding, Trade Technologies and Warehousing / Distribution Services. If you have questions, please reach out to Buckland today.