Section 232 Tariffs

CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:​

The Court of International Trade dismissed two cases brought by steel importer Voestalpine USA and steel purchaser Bilstein Cold Rolled Steel seeking to retroactively apply a Section 232 steel and aluminum tariff exclusion that was originally issued with a clerical error. Judge Mark Barnett said that the plaintiffs did not seek any relief that the court could grant since the entries eligible for the exclusion had already been liquidated, and the court does not have the power to order their reliquidation.

The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of May 9-15:

While the Biden administration faces very little legal constraint to continuing the Section 301 tariffs on the vast majority of Chinese imports, trade experts at the Wiley firm said that the administration is under pressure for a variety of reasons to make a decision on whether they are going to change their approach to the tariffs. So far, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has reinstated fewer than 500 exclusions, either due to the COVID-19 pandemic or to a limited review, and has not offered to renew the bulk of the 2,129 exclusions that were granted during the previous administration.

The Biden administration's approach to changing Section 301 tariffs is "a work in progress," said Sarah Bianchi, a deputy U.S. trade representative, while at a May 11 National Council of Textile Organizations conference. Her comments, which avoided directly answering a question of whether the administration position is that tariffs on apparel are not strategic, came a day after President Joe Biden told reporters that administration officials are discussing whether any Section 301 tariffs should be lowered or removed, "and no decision has been made on it."

When the Biden administration announced that the U.S. would roll back 25% tariffs on Ukrainian steel for one year, following the U.K. and the EU, there was no pushback from steel interests, and praise from Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore.. He issued a statement that said, "As Ukraine continues to valiantly fend off Russia's brutal invasion, it is important that the United States do everything it can to support the Ukrainian economy. Removing the Section 232 tariffs is an appropriate and welcome move from the Biden Administration that makes clear our primary concern is with China's overcapacity, not the people of Ukraine."

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce continues to argue against including rewrites to antidumping duty and countervailing duty laws, and calls for tariff relief, John Murphy, the lead advocate on trade for the group, blogged about their trade priorities.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai endorsed the Level the Playing Act during a four-hour hearing in front of the House Ways and Means Committee after one of its House sponsors noted the House and the Senate are about to go to conference, and the proposal to rewrite antidumping duty and countervailing duty laws is going to be on the table.

The tariff rate quota arrangement that the U.S. offered the U.K. covers a higher volume of steel than the U.K. exported to the U.S. in 2018 and 2019, though those quotas also cover steel with EU country of origin that was melted and poured in the U.K.

The U.S. and U.K. reached an agreement that will drop Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from the U.K. Under the deal, the U.S. will allow “historically-based sustainable volumes” of U.K. steel and aluminum goods to enter the country, the Commerce Department said, adding that it will lift the tariffs June 1. The U.S. will also require any U.K. steel company owned by a Chinese entity to undergo a financial audit “to assess influence” from the Chinese government.