CSMS # 55844950 - Revised Guidance: Processing Approved Section 232 Product Exclusions

U.S. Customs and Border Protection sent this bulletin at 04/10/2023 04:18 PM EDT

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CSMS # 55844950 - Revised Guidance: Processing Approved Section 232 Product Exclusions

The purpose of this message is to provide updated guidance on processing approved Section 232 product exclusions.

BACKGROUND:

On March 19, 2018, the Department of Commerce (DOC) published in the Federal Register (FR) the process for parties to submit requests for product exclusions from Presidential Proclamations 9704 and 9705 on Adjusting Imports of Steel and Aluminum into the United States under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. See 83 FR 12106 and CSMS 39633923.

GUIDANCE:

In CSMS 39633923 dated September 3, 2019, CBP required importers to provide certain information by email in order to activate approved Section 232 exclusions in Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). Importers are no longer required to provide this information in order to activate approved Section 232 exclusions.

CBP now directly processes approved Section 232 exclusions based on weekly lists provided by DOC. CBP activates approved product exclusion IDs in ACE on a weekly basis.

Importers can check CBP.gov every Friday, to determine if a Section 232 approved product exclusion is active in ACE. The posting can be found at https://www.cbp.gov/document/publications/active-section-232-product-exclusions-ace. The product exclusion ID must be on the list of active product exclusions on CBP.gov before the importer of record/broker submits the exclusion ID on an entry/entry summary line.

If an approved product exclusion is not on the active product exclusion list on CBP.gov, please check the following Friday. Note that CBP receives approved exclusions from the DOC on a weekly basis and activates exclusions in ACE on a weekly basis; as a result, there will be a delay between the approval date of a Section 232 exclusion and activation in ACE.

CBP will only process a product exclusion if the name of the Importer of Record (IOR) is on the original exclusion submission request with DOC and matches the IOR name registered in ACE through the 5106 process (see CSMS 48979698). If the name of the IOR on the original exclusion submission request with DOC does not match the IOR name registered in ACE, the IOR will need to submit an IOR change request directly with DOC.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILING A PRODUCT EXCLUSION ID:

Instructions on submitting entries to CBP of steel and aluminum products granted exclusions by DOC from the Presidential Proclamations are as follows:

Importers and filers importing products that were granted an exclusion, should submit the product exclusion ID based on the last six digits of the product exclusion number at DOC 232 exclusion portal: https://232app.azurewebsites.net/Index.

The product exclusion ID should be submitted in the Importer Additional Declaration Field (54 record) of the entry summary line data, based on the following format:

For excluded steel mill articles Exclusion ID 1657= SPR001657

For excluded aluminum articles Exclusion ID 16578= APR016578

The Exclusion ID should be prefaced with leading zeros (‘0’) not to exceed a numeral length of six. e.g., ‘165’ becomes ‘SPR000165’.

Please refer to the Importer’s Additional Declaration Detail (Input 54-Record) of the CBP and Trade Automated Interface Requirements (CATAIR) Manual for further guidance. The CATAIR document can be found at https://www.cbp.gov/document/guidance/ace-abi-catair-entry-summary-createupdate.

Do not submit the corresponding Chapter 99 HTS number for the Section 232 duties when the product exclusion ID is submitted on an entry/entry summary line. For filing instructions regarding exclusions for Section 232 quotas, see the quota-specific bulletin at Quota Bulletins | U.S. Customs and Border Protection (cbp.gov).

Only products from importer(s) designated in the product exclusion granted by the DOC are eligible for the exclusion from the Section 232 measures. Steel importers are reminded to submit mill certificates with their import data as required by 19 CFR 141.89.

Any Importer of Record modification changes to an exclusion request submission would need to be submitted directly to the Department of Commerce.

For questions about Section 232 product exclusion process, contact Director, Industrial Studies, Office of Technology Evaluation, Bureau of Industry and Security, U.S. Department of Commerce, (202) 482-5642, Steel232@bis.doc.gov regarding steel exclusion requests and (202) 482-4757, Aluminum232@bis.doc.gov regarding aluminum exclusion requests.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Exclusions granted by DOC are retroactive to the date the request for exclusion was submitted to the 232 Exclusions Portal. To request a refund of Section 232 duties paid on previous imports of the same merchandise granted an exclusion by DOC and entered during the effective period of the product exclusion, importers may file a Post Summary Correction (PSC) and provide the product exclusion ID in the Importer Additional Declaration Field (Input 54-Record).

If the entry of merchandise that qualifies for the DOC granted exclusion has already liquidated, and is still within the protest period, importers may claim the exclusion by protesting the liquidation.

Section 232 Exclusions for Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and Africa Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) entries

Importers can claim GSP benefits for importations that are GSP eligible and are excluded from Section 232 measure. Note: GSP is currently expired and awaiting congressional renewal. See CSMS 45244051 for more information on filing GSP entries during the lapse.

Importers can claim AGOA benefits for AGOA eligible importations (SPI “D”) that are excluded from Section 232 measures.

For more information about submitting Post Summary Corrections and Protests via ACE, see Chapters 7 and 12 respectively, of the ACE Entry Summary Business Process. The ACE Entry Summary Business Process Document can be found at https://www.cbp.gov/document/guides/ace-entry-summary-business-process.

For questions regarding Section 232 trade remedies, please refer to CSMS message # 52417905 – Update: Information on Trade Remedy Questions and Resources https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDHSCBP/bulletins/31fd571

Questions from the importing community concerning ACE rejections should be referred to their Client Representative.

Related Messages: 55014059,39633923, 18-000378, 18-000663

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