COAC Recommends That CBP Publish More Clear Guidance on Section 232 Tariffs
Members of the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee are urging CBP to provide more clarity on how to comply with Section 232 tariffs, as well as suggesting that CBP enable importers to use publicly available metal commodity pricing for valuation purposes, according to a list of recommendations that the committee is expected to vote on during its quarterly meeting on Jan. 14.
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Each of the eight recommendations, which will be passed along to CBP if approved, addresses some aspect of complying with Section 232 tariffs.
"COAC recommends that CBP create clear and easy to understand Section 232 tariff guidance including visuals, decisions trees, flowcharts and hyperlinks to make the information more accessible to all importers to support valuation methodology and to clarify more generally the type and nature of documentation required to support a Section 232 tariff claim," the first recommendation says.
Says the second recommendation: "The committee also wants CBP to allow importers to utilize publicly available commodity pricing as one of the means for determining and declaring the value of metal included in steel, aluminum and copper products that are subject to Section 232 tariffs on the value of the metal content."
COAC also is asking that CBP work with the Bureau of Industry and Security to clarify what component or article specifically is covered by the goods added to the Section 232 tariff list via the inclusion process, which would be the same way that BIS detailed the type of component or articles covered by its Section 232 steel and aluminum exclusions.
The committee also would like a time period of at least two weeks between when Section 232 tariff inclusions are published in the Federal Register and when they would be implemented.
Other recommendations include:
- For CBP to exempt, at the agency's discretion, cargo in-transit such that merchandise already loaded on a conveyance on or before the date the tariffs are implemented would be exempt from the tariffs.
- For CBP to establish a working threshold for a nominal value to deem a derivative as insignificant for a Section 232 tariff claim and create a disclaim option. This will reduce administrative burden and drive efficiency for CBP to focus on the larger revenue targets and bad actors.
- For CBP to allow aluminum importers to declare “Other than Russia” origin when importers are unable to determine the exact single country of origin, but can confirm that the aluminum is not of Russian origin.
- For CBP to confirm with all ports and Centers of Excellence and Expertise that the Trade Information Notice is to be used as the primary means of communication with the trade.
In addition to introducing the recommendations for vote this Wednesday, COAC members also will hear from federal officials who are likely to speak on the agency's focus on trade enforcement, according to the meeting agenda. CBP indicated last July that it would reorganize to focus on trade enforcement (see 2507010077); COAC last met in September under its former iteration that was focused on trade facilitation (see 2509170046).