Yesterday, the Commerce Department issued the long-awaited notice setting forth the procedures for requesting the addition of derivative steel products to the Section 232 tariff Annex.  Pursuant to Presidential Proclamation 10895, directing the Secretary of Commerce to establish a process for including additional derivative steel and aluminum articles within the scope of the Section 232 duties, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) within Commerce published an interim final rule setting forth the procedures for seeking such inclusions.  While comments are being accepted with respect to the interim rule itself within 45 days of its publication, the notice establishes windows for the submission of comments seeking the addition of derivative products that open as early as May 1, 2025, indicating that BIS is moving forward promptly with this initiative.

The process BIS has proposed for the addition of derivative products to the Section 232 tariff list would create three distinct two-week windows of time annually for the submission of requests at the beginning of May, September and January.  The first window, the notice states, opens today, May 1, 2025.  Submissions of inclusion requests must provide the following information:

1. Identification of the applicant (must be a U.S. producer of steel or aluminum articles or derivative articles or an association representing one or more such producers)
2. A precise definition of the derivative article
3. The 8 or 10-digit HTS classification to be included on the list
4. An explanation of why the article is a steel or aluminum derivative, including (as practical) information on the value of the steel or aluminum content as a share of the derivative article’s overall value
5. Pertinent information on the domestic industry affected
6. Statistics on imports and domestic production
7. A description of how imports of the derivative article threaten to impair national security

Comments are limited to 30 pages and may include confidential information (along with a public version), must be submitted through the Defense Industrial Base Programs inbox and must be in PDF format.  After conclusion of the two-week submission window, BIS will post non-confidential versions of all valid requests for a 14-day public comment window on www.regulations.gov.  This published notice will confirm acceptance of the request and initiate a 60-day timeline for processing the request.  The request will be assessed for whether the described article at the 8 or 10-digit HTS level is a derivative steel or aluminum article and whether the derivative article imports have increased in a manner that threatens to impair national security or otherwise undermine the objectives set forth in the Section 232 reports or related Inclusions Proclamations.  At the end of the 60 days, the Secretary will sign a positive or negative determination as to each request and BIS will post the results. A Federal Register notice will then issue to modify the Annexes to the Inclusions Proclamations to add the new derivative products.  Duties on the newly included derivative articles will take effect “shortly thereafter” through coordination with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

You can read the Federal Register Notice here.