The US Department of Commerce’s (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security has published an interim final rule that changes aspects of Section 232 exclusion process on tariffs of imports of aluminum and steel.
The DOC stated that it aims to create a more efficient method for approving exclusions. The new method will result in an estimated immediate decrease of 5,000 exclusion requests annually, causing an improvement in efficiency.
According to the report, some exclusion requesters may have requested more volume than they have needed for their own operations compared to their past usage.
The Section 232 measures started to be implemented in 2018 and have been revised since then. Canada and Mexico are excluded from Section 232 due to free trade agreements, while Brazil and South Korea are subject to quotas.