Author: BCB International

As expected, the President of the United States has officially signed the Executive Order modifying existing orders pertaining to tariffs on aluminum and aluminum derivative products (Note: the Order title references steel but the content pertains to aluminum). Most notably, the Order increases the amount of duty charged on aluminum and aluminum derivative products pursuant to prior orders from 10% to 25% effective March 12, 2025 at 12:01 am.

 Similar to the steel order, any prior exemptions, exclusions, country-specific quota benefits, etc. will be terminated as of the above effective date. Accordingly, all aluminum and aluminum derivative products which are currently subject to 10% Section 232 duties pursuant to prior presidential orders, and as subsequently revised, will be subject to an increased duty of 25% regardless of country of origin. This includes Canada and Mexico. However, for aluminum articles that are a product of Russia, and aluminum derivative products where any amount of primary aluminum used in the manufacture of the article is smelted in Russia, or the derivative aluminum article is cast in Russia, the duty rate will be 200%.

Further, and also similar to the steel order, the Order states there will be tariffs on ADDITIONAL aluminum derivative articles, but the list of those products has not yet been released. The Order references an Annex where these products will be found but the same has not been issued. Ultimately, it appears that the duty will only be charged on the “aluminum content” and the Secretary of Commerce will advise the president when they are equipped to handle this. A Federal Register Notice will be issued at that time. Again, the list of those additional products is not yet available, nor do we have any additional information as to what that list will look like.

 Additionally, the Order explicitly exempts from duty aluminum derivative articles (to be listed in the not yet published “Annex”) processed in another country from aluminum articles that were smelted and cast in the United States. Note the Executive Order pertaining to steel and steel derivatives, which was previously circulated, allows for a similar exemption for steel derivative articles made in another country from steel that was melted and poured in the United States.

 Links to applicable presidential orders which list the products subject to the latest Order are embedded above for your reference.

The President of the United States has signed an Executive Order modifying existing orders pertaining to tariffs on steel and steel derivative products. Very basically, effective March 12, 2025 at 12:01 am, any prior exemptions, exclusions, country-specific quota benefits, etc. will be terminated. Accordingly, all steel and steel derivative products which are currently subject to 25% Section 232 duties pursuant to prior presidential orders, and as subsequently revised, will be subject to those duties regardless of country of origin. This includes Canada and Mexico.

Links to applicable presidential orders are embedded above for your reference.

Further, the Order states there will be tariffs on ADDITIONAL steel derivative articles but the list of those products has not yet been released. The Order references an Annex where these products will be found but the same has not been issued. Ultimately, it appears that the duty will only be charged on the “steel content” and CBP will advise the president when they are equipped to handle this. A Federal Register Notice will be issued at that time.

The additional 10% tariffs on products of China AND Hong Kong, are now in effect as of 12:01 am EST today, February 4, 2025. In other words, any shipment with a CBP release date of February 4, 2025 or later will be subject to the new tariffs until further notice.

These new tariffs are IN ADDITION to all other applicable tariffs, including but not limited to the current 25% duty applicable to many Chinese products, and any applicable AD/CVD. Per CBP CSMS message 63988468, and the corresponding Federal Register Notice, no duty drawback is available, nor are shipments of subject products eligible for “de minimis” clearance pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1321 (“Section 321”). A formal or informal (if eligible) entry is required.

Further, there are very limited exceptions to the new tariffs. It should be noted that pursuant to the Executive Order, the following situation does allow for an exemption: Except for products described in headings 9903.01.21 and 9903.01.22, and other than products for personal use included in accompanied baggage of persons arriving in the United States, articles the product of China and Hong Kong that: (1) were loaded onto a vessel at the port of loading, or in transit on the final mode of transport prior to entry into the United States, before 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time on February 1, 2025; and (2) are entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time on February 4, 2025, and before 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time on March 7, 2025.

Per U.S. Customs and Border protection, and multiple new outlets, the United States and Canada have reached an agreement pausing tariffs on both sides for at least 30 days.  CBP has issued an official CSMS message retracting its prior message regarding implementation of the tariffs.  The content of that message is pasted below.

CSMS # 63991510 – GUIDANCE: Pause on Application of Additional Duties on Imports from Canada

Per the President’s direction, CSMS message 63988467 is retracted with respect to imports from Canada. CBP will not apply the additional duties outlined in the President’s Executive Order titled Imposing Duties to Address the Flow of Illicit Drugs Across our Northern Border, dated February 1, 2025, at this time.

Related message: 63988467

Multiple news outlets are reporting that President Trump has reached an agreement with Mexico to delay the tariffs imposed on products of Mexico for one month.  We continue to monitor the situation with Canada and China closely. We will provide further updates as the same become available.

As noted on Saturday (Canada’s Response to the 25% US Tariff on Most Canadian Goods | CSCB National Office), Canada has implemented a suite of measures to respond to the 25% tariff imposed by the United States on most Canadian goods. Since the initial announcement, the following additional information has become available:

United States Surtax Order

List of products from the United States subject to 25 per cent tariffs effective February 4, 2025 – Canada.ca

Customs Notice 25-03: United States Surtax Order (2025)

BCB Canada will continue to provide update as the same become available.

On Saturday, February 1, 2025, the President of the United States signed Executive Orders imposing new tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico, and China effective February 4, 2025 at 12:01 am Eastern Time (EST). Accordingly, as of right now, goods entered for consumption or withdrawn from a warehouse for consumption on or after 12:01 am EST on February 4, 2025 will be subject to the tariffs described in the Executive Orders. The executive orders can be accessed at the below links:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/imposing-duties-to-address-the-flow-of-illicit-drugs-across-our-national-border/

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/imposing-duties-to-address-the-situation-at-our-southern-border/

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/imposing-duties-to-address-the-synthetic-opioid-supply-chain-in-the-peoples-republic-of-china/

At this time, it is now in the hands of the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection to issue a notice in the Federal Register which shall provide further guidance and explanation as to the actual implementation of the Orders. For example, the Federal Register notice shall define what is considered a “product of Canada” pursuant to the applicable Order.

Once the Federal Register Notice is issued, we will provide further guidance as to how we will all move forward. We encourage you to continue to monitor the situation closely. Please refer to our website for up to date alerts and continue to monitor your e-mail.