Section 232 Changes – 12 GAEs Removed from Steel and Aluminum Exclusions

Trade Update • May 21, 2024

ffective July 1, 2024, 12 General Approved Exclusions (GAEs), six for steel and six for aluminum will be removed from the Section 232 duty exclusion process.

Products Affected

Aluminum GAE being removed:

• GAE.1.A: 7609000000 – Aluminum Tube or Pipe Fittings (couplings, elbows, sleeves)
• GAE.4.A: 7604210010 – Aluminum Alloy Hollow Profiles of Heat Treatable Industrial
• GAE.5.A: 7604291010 – Aluminum Alloy Profiles Other Than Hollow Profiles of Heat- Treatable Industrial Alloys of a Kind Described in Note 6 to Chapter 76
• GAE.9.A: 7601209080 – Unwrought Aluminum Alloy, Sheet Ingot (slab) of a Kind Described in Statistical Note 3 to Chapter 76
• GAE.10.A: 7607116010 – Aluminum Foil of Thickness>0.01 MM AND </=0.15 MM, Rolled, Not Backed, Boxed & Weighing </=11.3 KG
• GAE.13.A: 7604295090 – Aluminum Alloy Bars and Rods, Other Than Round Cross Section, Other than Heat-Treatable Industrial Alloys of a Kind Described in Notes 5 & 6 of Chapter 76

Steel GAE being removed:

• GAE.24.S: 7211296080 – Flat-Rolled Iron/Nonalloy Steel, Width >300MM but <600MM, Not Clad/ Plated/Coated, Cold Rolled Thickness >/=0.25% but </=1.25MM
• GAE.43.S: 7209900000 – Flat-Rolled Iron/Nonalloy Steel, Width >/=600MM, Cold Rolled, Not Clad/ Plated/ Coated, Whether or not in Coils
• GAE.43.S: 7209900000 – H Sections U Sections Iron/Nonalloy Steel, Hot-Rolled/Drawn/Extruded, Height >/=80MM
• GAE.84.S: 7209270000 – Flat-Rolled Iron/Nonalloy Steel, Width >/=600MM, Cold Rolled, Not Clad/ Plated/ Coated, Not Coils, Thickness 0.5–1MM
• GAE.90.S: 7216100010 – U Sections Iron/Nonalloy Steel, Hot-Rolled/Drawn/Extruded, Height <80MM
• GAE.93.S: 7208380015 – Flat-Rolled Iron/Nonalloy Steel, Width >/=600MM, Hot-Rolled, Not Clad/Plated/Coated, Coils, Thickness >/=3MM but <4.75MM, High-Strength Steel

With the removal of these GAE, unless the U.S. importer has a Commerce exclusion, they may be subject to 10 percent Section 232 duties on aluminum, or 25 percent on steel. There remain 81 GAEs – 5 GAE for aluminum (GAE.3.A: 7607196000, GAE.6.A: 7607191000, GAE.7.A: 7606116000, GAE.8.A: 7605290000 and GAE.12.A: 7607201000), and 76 for steel.

Background

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) originally established GAEs to streamline the exclusion process for products consistently found not to be produced in sufficient quantity or quality in the United States. In announcing the removal of these 12 GAEs, BIS stated that “reversing previous exemptions that facilitated imports of these metals aims to strengthen our U.S. industrial base and our national security by reducing reliance on foreign manufacturing and enhancing domestic production of steel and aluminum.”

For questions or concerns if your goods are affected, please contact us.