On June 13, 2025, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued guidance in Cargo Systems Messaging Service (CSMS) # 65340246 on how to report the country of smelt and cast on derivative aluminum imports for products subject to Section 232 aluminum measures when the importer does not know this information.
Effective June 28, 2025, if the country of smelt and/or cast is unknown, importers should report “UN” (unknown) in place of the country code. In such cases, importers are required to report 9903.85.67 or 9903.85.68, as applicable. These entries will be subject to a 200 percent ad valorem duty.
CBP confirmed that importers are required to report either primary or secondary country of smelt – or both – on the entry line, if identifiable. If neither can be determined, the “unknown” designation must be used, which automatically triggers the 200 percent duty rate.
On June 16, 2025, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a notice in the Federal Register announcing modifications to Annex 1 of the Section 232 steel tariffs. These changes introduce 11 additional steel derivative products that will subject to the 50 percent tariff.
The newly affected products include:
These tariffs go into effect at 12:01 a.m. on June 23, 2025.