President Donald Trump said in an Aug. 15 tweet that tariffs are leading to great new trade deals. "Our Country was built on Tariffs," he said. "Other Countries should not be allowed to come in and [steal] the wealth of our great U.S.A. No longer!" So far, no new trade deal has been finalized during the Trump administration, though South Korea agreed to steel quotas and a longer period of high tariffs on imported trucks as part of a revised U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS). KORUS has not been signed, however. Canada, Mexico and the U.S. have been discussing a new NAFTA for a year; Canada is insistent that the U.S. will not use the leverage of Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs in NAFTA negotiations (see 1804260010).
Section 232 Tariffs
The United States currently maintains a 25% tariff on steel imports and 10% on tariff on aluminum imports under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. In 2018, the Trump administration imposed Section 232 Tariffs on steel and aluminum imports into the United States, citing national security concerns. The U.S. agreed to lift tariffs on Canada and Mexico after the signing of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), and reached deals with the European Union, Japan and other countries to replace the tariffs with quotas for steel and aluminum imports into the U.S.
ATLANTA -- CBP has assessed about $2.7 billion in duties under the recent major trade remedies started during the Trump administration, said John Leonard, executive director-trade policy and programs, during an Aug. 14 meeting with reporters at the CBP 2018 Trade Symposium. That includes $477 million in duties from the Section 301 tariffs on goods from China so far, he said. The first tranche of Section 301 tariffs took effect on July 6 (see 1807050033) and more are scheduled to take effect on Aug. 23 (see 1808070046). CBP also has assessed just over $2 billion under the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum and $263 million under the Section 201 trade remedies on washing machines and solar cells (see 1801230052). Leonard also noted that the Section 201 tariff-rate quota for washer parts was recently reached. According to the most recent quota status report, the washer parts TRQ was filled as of July 23.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Aug. 6-10 in case they were missed.
President Donald Trump said in a tweet on Aug. 10 that a deal with Mexico is nearly in hand. Canada will have to wait, and he plans to put heavy pressure on Canadian officials to make concessions, because "their Tariffs and Trade Barriers are far too high," he said. "Will tax cars if we can’t make a deal!"
The increased Section 232 tariffs on steel from Turkey will take effect at 12:01 a.m. on Aug. 13, the White House said in a proclamation. CBP issued filing instructions for Turkish steel on Aug. 12 in a CSMS message. Importers are to include the classification "9903.80.02 (50% ad valorem duty rate for products of iron and steel that are the product of Turkey)" in addition to the regular Chapter 72 or 73 classifications, the agency said.
President Donald Trump said he will double tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminum because of the movement of the Turkish lira. " Aluminum will now be 20% and Steel 50%," he tweeted. "Our relations with Turkey are not good at this time!" The Turkish Embassy did not immediately respond with a comment. The country is also facing potential removal from the Generalized System of Preferences due to its tariffs on U.S. goods in response to the Section 232 tariffs (see 1808060021).
CBP has collected $1.1 billion in duties on steel and $344.2 million in duties on aluminum as a result of the Section 232 tariffs as of July 16, the Congressional Research Service said in a recent report. "Based on 2017 U.S. import values, annual tariff revenue from the Section 232 tariffs could be as high as $5.8 billion and $1.7 billion for steel and aluminum, respectively, but such estimates do not account for dynamic effects," it said. The tariffs took effect in March (see 1803230014), though some countries were exempt then and some still are (see 1805010027). That money goes into a general fund of the U.S. Treasury, it said.
President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. will "resolve the steel and aluminum issues" with the European Union after the EU agreed to buy more soybeans and liquefied natural gas, and to enter negotiations to drop non-auto industrial tariffs to zero. The EU's retaliatory tariffs will also be "resolved," said Trump.
After four months, only 266 product exclusion requests have been granted, 421 were denied, and more than 26,000 are yet to be decided, House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Dave Reichert, R-Wash., said at a hearing on the Section 232 exclusion process. He called for numerous changes to the process in his opening statement.
The Bureau of Industry and Security issued a list of frequently asked questions about product exclusions from the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum. Among the answered questions are how to seek a different decision if a company disagrees with a denial. If the denial is the result of an inaccurate Harmonized Tariff Schedule classification, the company should contact CBP and then resubmit the request with the correct classification. "If the denial is based on an objection, the requester may file a new exclusion request and include information documenting the reason why the new request should be granted notwithstanding the prior objection(s)," BIS said. "This information could include, for example, the documentation of the inability or refusal of the objector(s) to provide the product." The lack of denial appeal procedure is among some complaints about the exclusion process (see 1807230062).