Back on May 30th, the President announced Section 232 Steel and Aluminum tariffs will be raised to 50%, effective Wednesday, June 4th, 2025. As of June 28th and specifically regarding aluminum, if the country of cast or smelt aluminum is unknown, then the origin must be shown as ‘UN’ for ‘unknown’. This will trigger 200% duty on the aluminum value of the shipment – the same duty rate that’s applied to Russian-origin aluminum. This is a significant adjustment to the recently updated metals tariff.
If you’re unable to demonstrate the country of origin on imports containing aluminum, then you must declare the country of origin as Unknown and pay the very high 200% duty rate on your shipment.
The unknown origin declaration could also trigger a CBP Form 28 (request for information) compelling you to secure the country of smelt and/or cast.
If you need support in identifying the country of origin for your products containing aluminum, we have a solution you can leverage to map your supply chain – contact us to learn more.
In addition, there is increased focus on Section 232 exclusion claims where CBP is closely monitoring importers on their claims values. Overages will be subject to full 232 duties and possible underpayment penalties.
We recently held a webinar on Steel and Aluminum, which discussed melting, smelting, and more. If you didn’t get to attend, you can view it here. It contains additional information that you can leverage.
