Op-Ed: Steel and aluminum tariffs

Jonathan R. Todd

What is old, what is new, and what recent actions mean for industry

By Jonathan R. Todd, Benesch Law

United States President Donald Trump is no stranger to steel and aluminum tariffs. Trade actions targeting those commodities were a large part of his First Term agenda when he launched those Section 232 trade actions in 2018. President Trump revisited those prior actions less than a month after taking office by issuing Presidential Proclamations effectively updating the nation’s approach to steel and aluminum imports. The effect is a less forgiving import environment for these commodities than under the President’s prior term. It is also an environment where failure to observe strict compliance can yield higher penalties than most importers previously experienced during customs enforcement defense.

What Is New for Steel and Aluminum

Duties of 25% (ad valorem) will apply to steel and aluminum imports effective March 12, 2025. The President did so by issuing his Proclamations on February 10, 2025, that seek to strengthen prior trade actions on steel and aluminum imports into the United States. Changes to the existing Section 232 program include eliminating alternative agreements, exemptions, and exclusions that previously limited application of the duties. The president also seeks more stringent “melted and poured” standards, expanded scope to certain downstream products, and efforts to target duty evasion through tariff misclassification. Drawback will not be available for duties imposed under the Presidential Proclamations.

What Items Are Impacted

Steel and aluminum are clearly impacted by these tariffs but the scope extends far beyond raw commodities. A so-called “Annex I” to each Proclamation was later issued on February 18, 2025, identifying derivative steel and aluminum products to which the additional duties would apply. Annex I of derivative steel imports includes products such as flanges, butt welding fittings, railway or tramway track construction material, bridges, bridge sections, modular building units, skip hoists, and cooking ware. Annex I of derivative aluminum is less exhaustive than its steel counterpart. The Aluminum Annex includes an array of goods such as pneumatic cylinders for lifting, bake ware, castors, Venetian blinds, ladders, doors, and base mountings designed for motor vehicles. Also, no new product exclusions will be available following February 10, 2025. Any currently granted product exclusions will remain effective until the latter of their expiration date or until the excluded product volume is imported. 

What Countries are Impacted

The elimination of special arrangements mean that steel and aluminum sourced from particular countries will have higher duties than in recent years. Countries of origin impacted by the changes for both steel and aluminum imports include Argentina, Australia, Canada, EU countries, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. Countries of origin impacted solely by the changes for steel imports include Brazil, South Korea, and Ukraine.

What Tariffs Mean for Industry

The immediate effects of these actions are two-fold. First, we are clearly entering a higher cost operating environment. Industries reliant on steel and aluminum adapted to the Trump ’45 tariffs by seeking exclusions, adjusting suppliers, and sourcing from countries with special arrangements. Those tools are no longer available. The result is a need to find domestic supply where possible or to renegotiate volume and price with suppliers on the one hand and sale prices with customers on the other. Second, the White House has indicated that it will have zero patience with gamesmanship during this period.

The recent Proclamations direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to pursue MAXIMUM civil penalties against any importers found to have evaded duties or misclassified imports. Customs will pursue those prosecutions without any consideration of “mitigating factors” which were historically available. The result is a strict compliance environment where even mistakes may be costly in terms of additional spend and the potential for negative headlines.