Effective December 29, 2020 Section 232 steel and aluminum entries using HTS numbers listed in the Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security Interim Final Rule supplement no. 2 and no.3 (https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-12-14/pdf/2020-27110.pdf) must use HTS 9903.80.60 steel or 9903.85.11 aluminum along with the CH 1-97 HTS classification.

The Interim Final Rule implements General Approved Exclusions (GAEs) that the Department of Commerce has determined will further improve the 232 exclusions process.

The GAEs may be used by any importing entity and will provide an efficient exclusion process for certain steel and aluminum HTS numbers where objections have not been received in the past.  The GAE HTS must be entered using 9903.80.60 steel or 9903.85.11 aluminum along with the CH 1-97 HTS classification.

This change will result in an estimated immediate decrease of 5,000 exclusion requests annually, resulting in a significant improvement in efficiency of the 232 exclusion process.

Please refer to Quota Bulletin QB 21-601 2020 Absolute Quota for Steel Mill Articles: Argentina, Brazil and South Korea and QB 21-701 Absolute Aluminum Articles from Argentina (https://www.cbp.gov/trade/quota/bulletins).  Please note the new General Approved Exclusion 10-digit HTS numbers are listed at the end of the appropriate bulletin.