New Tariff Rate, Documentation Process For Aluminum Derivative Imports Goes Into Effect This Week

Earlier this month, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued updated guidance on reporting the country of smelt and cast for derivative aluminum imports subject to the United States’ Section 232 tariffs.

As Livingston International noted, the “new tariff rate and documentation requirement is a departure from the previous requirement introduced on March 26, 2025, which allowed importers of aluminum derivatives to state the country of origin in place of the country of smelt and cast if the country of smelt and cast is unknown.” As such, effective June 28, 2025, importers who do not know the country of smelt and cast will be required to:

• Report “unknown” instead of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) code for the unknown country of smelt and cast;
• Report HTS 9903.85.67 or 9903.85.68, depending on the aluminum derivative product in question; and
• Pay a 200 percent Section 232 duty, the same duty assessed on aluminum imports originating from Russia.

For aluminum and derivative aluminum imports whose country of smelt and cast is known, importers should report “Y” for the primary country of smelt and, if applicable, the secondary country of smelt. Please note: importers cannot report “N” for both the primary and secondary countries of smelt. Additionally, importers must report the ISO code associated with the country of most recent cast.

Read more at this link.