According to a press release from the US Department of Commerce (DOC), Donald Trump signed a proclamation Wednesday allowing Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross to provide targeted relief from quotas imposed under Section 232 on steel from South Korea, Argentina, and Brazil, and aluminum from Argentina.
“This proclamation provides the department the same product exclusion authority for quotas that we already have for tariffs,” said Ross.
Companies can apply for product exclusions based on insufficient quantity or quality available from US steel or aluminum producers. In such cases, an exclusion from the quota may be granted and no tariff would be owed.
In a limited number of cases, steel articles are being used in a facility construction project in the United States that were contracted for purchase prior to the decision to impose quotas, and cannot presently enter into the United States because a quota has already been reached. In such a case, an exclusion from the quota may be granted, but the product may only be imported upon payment of the 25 percent tariff.