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Trade and Industry Department The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Brand Hong Kong - Asia world city
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Commercial Information Circulars

24-hour hotline : 23 922 922

e-mail address : enquiry@tid.gov.hk

Ref. : EIC 111/2/18
EIC 111/3
EIC 111/3/13

14 December 2020

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No. 891/2020

US : Section 232 Tariffs on Imported Steel and Aluminium - Seeking Public Comments on Certain Revisions to the Exclusion Process

Further to Commercial Information Circular No. 418/2020 of 25 May 2020, the US Department of Commerce (DoC) announced an interim final rule on 14 December 2020 to revise certain aspects of the exclusion process from the duties and quantitative limitations on imports of steel and aluminium under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended (''Section 232''). This interim final rule is effective 14 December 2020, except for certain amendatory instructions that are effective 29 December 2020. The US DoC also seeks public comments to evaluate the effectiveness of these revisions. Comments on this interim final rule must be received by US Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) no later than 12 February 2021.

DETAILS

2.The US imposed additional tariffs of 25% and 10% on steel and aluminium products respectively imported from all countries/economies (except certain economies which are fully exempted or subject to quotas) on 23 March 2018 under the Section 232 investigation. The US further included certain derivatives of steel and aluminium products for the additional tariffs on 8 February 2020. The US DoC has also developed an exclusion process for manufacturers to submit requests for the exclusion of specific products from the additional tariffs. For details, please refer to Commercial Information Circular Nos. 264/2018, 283/2018 and 90/2020 dated 16 March 2018, 20 March 2018 and 6 February 2020 respectively.

3.On 14 December 2020, the US DoC announced an interim final rule to revise and improve the 232 exclusion process from the duties and quantitative limitations on imports of steel and aluminium under Section 232. The key changes, among others, include addressing the need to create a more efficient method for approving exclusions where objections have not been received in the past for certain steel or aluminum articles, with the adoption of General Approved Exclusions (GAEs). The US DoC also addresses the issue that certain exclusion requesters may have requested more volume than they may have needed for their own business purposes compared to past usage, and thus a new certification requirement for volumes requested is added. The interim final rule is effective 14 December 2020, except for certain amendatory instructions that are effective 29 December 2020. Meanwhile, the US DoC is seeking public comments to evaluate the effectiveness of these revisions. The comment process has the following important dates and features:

  • Comments should be submitted through Federal eRulemaking website: http://www.regulations.gov
  • The Docket Number is BIS-2020-0022 or RIN 0694-AH55
  • Comments must be received by US BIS no later than 12 February 2021.

4.For details, please refer to the Federal Register notice at https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-12-14/pdf/2020-27110.pdf

ENQUIRIES

5.For enquiries concerning the content of this circular, please contact Miss K Y HO at telephone number 2398 5405.

Yours faithfully,

(Miss Ivy TAM)
for Director-General of Trade and Industry

Note: While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the above information, the Department cannot guarantee this to be so and will not be held liable for any reliance placed on the same.