The U.S. Department of Commerce will begin requiring licenses to import aluminum today! This was confirmed late Friday afternoon in CSMS Message #46775842.
The Aluminum Import Monitoring and Analysis System was established for permits to be requested through an online portal to receive a license number that must be electronically transmitted to U.S. Customs & Border Protection for release of the goods.
The requirements apply to “basic aluminum products” under the following tariff schedule headings and subheadings: 7601, 7604, 7605, 7606, 7607, 7608, 7609, 7616.99.51.60 and 7616.99.51.70.
After registering on the new system, importers or their brokers will have to provide all the following information for each shipment prior to filing the entry summary:
- Filer company name and address
- Filer contact name, phone number, fax number and email address
- Entry type (i.e., Consumption, Foreign-Trade Zone)
- Importer name
- Exporter name
- Manufacturer name (filer may state “unknown”)
- Country of origin
- Country of exportation
- Expected date of export
- Expected date of import
- Expected port of entry
- Current HTS number (from Chapters 76)
- Country where the largest volume of primary aluminum used in the manufacture of the product was smelted* (after one-year grace period)
- Country where the second largest volume of primary aluminum used in the manufacture of the product was smelted* (after one-year grace period)
- Country where the product was most recently cast
- Quantity (in kilograms)
- Customs value (in U.S. $ amount).
Following a one-year grace period, Commerce will require importers to report the country where imported aluminum products were smelted.*
Please note that no import licenses would be required on informal entries of aluminum products (i.e., entries under $2,500 that comply with other CBP requirements for informal entry.) For shipments containing less than $5,000 in aluminum, applicants would be able to apply for a reusable Low-Value License that can be used in lieu of a single-entry license for low-value entries, Commerce said.
If you have questions on the new process, please contact the U.S. Regulatory Team at transitionus@willsonintl.com.