CBP Issues Guidance on New Section 232 General Approved Exclusions

The new General Approved Exclusions from Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum will be deployed in ACE as of 7 a.m. Dec. 29, CBP said in a Dec. 23 CSMS message. The Commerce Department announced the new GAEs in a Dec. 14 notice (see 2012100047). The GAEs exclude 108 entire Harmonized Tariff Schedule classifications from the tariffs on steel and 15 classifications from the aluminum tariffs, CBP said. “GAEs may be used by any importer and have no quantitative limit,” it said. “Exclusions are effective starting December 29, 2020, and no retroactive relief will be granted.”

When an importer uses an excluded 10-digit HTS number, “ACE will not require the Section 232 duties for that line,” the agency said. While the Commerce notice mentioned the use of a “GAE identifier in the ACE system that corresponds to the steel or aluminum articles being imported,” the GAE identifiers in ACE are the excluded classifications, CBP said. “Importers should not report any other Section 232 exclusion number or Chapter 99 Section 232 HTS classification on an entry summary line when importing goods under a GAE.” CBP said more guidance is coming for entry summary reporting requirements for Section 232 quota exclusions under a GAE.