US Imposes A 10% Duty On Canadian Aluminum Effective August 16th, 2020
In a Proclamation signed by President Donald Trump on Thursday, August 6, 2020, the U.S. is set to reimpose the 10% tariff on aluminum imports from Canada under Section 232. This is hard-hitting news for many companies who felt the relief of these duties that were lifted in May of 2019.
As the details of implementation continue to emerge there are lingering questions as to how similar this will be to the initial imposition of these Section 232 tariffs in 2018.
What We Know:
The Section 232 duties will go into effect on August 16th at 12:01 am EST. All shipments of aluminum from Canada will be assessed at the time of arrival at the port of entry regardless of the date they shipped.
If aluminum goods that fall under this order were entered into the U.S. under a warehouse entry, or into a Foreign Trade Zone, these duties will apply after withdrawal for entry into the U.S. after August 16th, 2020.
Canadian exporters of aluminum should note that duty drawback is not available under Section 232. Therefore, any aluminum imported into the U.S. from Canada that is subsequently exported will be ineligible for a refund on the duty paid upon import.
If you originally had an exclusion under the first order and that exclusion has not expired it will be valid under this new order.
What We Working On Clarifying For You:
Shortly after the initial imposition of Section 232 on Canadian aluminum, the U.S. government published in the Federal Register a means for importing parties to apply for exclusions. At this time, the process and applications for exclusions to this additional duty have not been published.
If you previously held an exclusion and it has expired you will need to reapply if and when the exclusion order application program opens up.
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister, Chrystia Freeland, has pledged to "swiftly impose dollar-for-dollar countermeasures." At a press conference on Friday, August 7th, 2020, Freeland announced that the
countermeasures will be "perfectly reciprocal" and amount in the tune of 3.6 Billion CAD dollars.
Please watch this space for details as they emerge.
