The United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced it will lift Section 232 tariffs on Canadian imports of non-alloyed unwrought aluminum retroactively through September 1, 2020.
Back on August 6th, the White House issued a proclamation imposing a 10 percent tariff on most Canadian aluminum imports citing harm to domestic industry. This meant beginning August 16th, the additional Section 232 tariff has been applied to all imports of non-alloyed unwrought aluminum (7601.10) from Canada to date.
Imports of non-alloyed unwrought aluminum from Canada during June 2019 through May 2020 increased 87 percent compared to the prior twelve-month period and exceeded the volume of any full calendar year in the previous decade.
The increase in imports of these articles from Canada is principally responsible for the 27 percent increase in total aluminum imports from Canada during June 2019 through May 2020.
Proclamation on Adjusting Imports of Aluminum Into the United States, August 6, 2020
News of the order was posted just hours before Canadian officials were scheduled to announce counteractive penalties against the United States, but came with conditions and warnings.
After consultations with the Canadian government, the United States has determined that trade in non-alloyed, unwrought aluminum is likely to normalize in the last four months of 2020, with imports declining sharply from the surges experienced earlier in the year.
The United States expects that shipments of non-alloyed, unwrought aluminum from Canada for the remainder of 2020 will be no greater than the following monthly volumes:
September 83,000 tons October 70,000 tons November 83,000 tons December 70,000 tons
If actual shipments exceed 105 percent of the expected volume for any month during the four-month period, then the United States will impose the 10 percent tariff retroactively on all shipments made in that month.
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