Regional Availability Can Be Considered for Steel, Aluminum Exclusions

An additional two presidential proclamations related to Section 232 tariffs on aluminum and steel were published March 28 in the Federal Register. One new detail was released on how companies can make arguments that the steel or aluminum they import should be excluded from tariffs. The proclamation said the commerce secretary can take "into account the regional availability of particular articles, the ability to transport articles within the United States, and any other factors as the Secretary deems appropriate."

The Wall Street Journal reported that a California company argued that the Australian steel it imports is valued at about one-third the cost of Ohio steel, because of the cost of shipping by land across the Rocky Mountains. Through midnight March 27, the department had received 115 submissions at the portal where exclusion requests -- and objections to those requests -- are made. The department received 27 submissions at the aluminum exclusion portal.

Separately, the presidential memorandum announcing Section 301 tariffs on Chinese products was published in the Federal Register of March 27. There were no details on the products proposed for Chinese tariffs. The U.S. trade representative's deadline for the list is 15 days after the memorandum's signature date, or April 6.