An Interim Final Rule was published in the Federal Register implementing General Approved Exclusions (GAEs) that the Department of Commerce has determined will further improve the 232 exclusions process.
The GAEs may be used by any importing entity and will provide an efficient exclusion process for certain steel and aluminum HTS numbers where objections have not been received in the past. Unlike the importer-specific exclusion requests granted by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), the GAEs do not include quantity limits. These exclusions will not be retroactive.
CSMS #45271041 was later issued providing trade guidance on the use of the exclusions. The GAEs effectively remove Section 232 duties from one hundred eight (108), 10-digit steel classifications and fifteen (15) 10-digit aluminum classifications. The list of impacted tariff numbers can be found in the link to the Interim Final Rule above.
It is important to note that products that fall under absolute quota and are present on the GAE list will need a new, 8-digit number to receive this exclusion. Steel and iron products from Argentina, Brazil, and Korea will use 9903.80.60 in addition to the regular 1-97 tariff number. While aluminum products from Argentina will use 9903.80.11 in addition to the regular, 1-97 tariff number.
CBP estimates that this change will result in an estimated immediate decrease of 5,000 exclusion requests annually, resulting in a significant improvement in efficiency of the Section 232 exclusion process.
Commerce can modify the GAE list at any time by issuing a notice to add new GAEs or revise existing GAEs. Changes to the GAEs will take effect 15 calendar days after publication of the relevant notice in the Federal Register.