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On 4 June (NZT) President Trump signed a Proclamation (external link)(and released an accompanying Fact Sheet(external link)) doubling tariffs on US imports of steel and aluminium to 50%.
Some details are still not clear, but at this stage we know the following:
- The Proclamation indicates that products currently en route to the US will be subject to the tariffs if they arrive in the US after 12.01 am (US Eastern Standard Time) on June 4 (4pm 4 June NZT).
- For products classified in either Chapter 73 or 76 of the US tariff schedule which also contain components other than steel and aluminium, the additional 50% tariff will be charged on the steel or aluminium components only.
- The additional tariff will apply to all countries, with the exception of the United Kingdom and China. The UK will remain subject to the 25% rate until at least the 9 July end of the ‘pause’ on the ‘reciprocal’ tariffs announced on 3 April, after which time the tariff rate for the UK may change depending on the status of the US/UK ‘deal’ at that time. (China is subject to a higher tariff rate.)
- The Proclamation notes that Harmonised Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) codes that are covered by the increase are listed in “Annexes I and II to this proclamation”. However, they are not yet online. We expect these to be published on the US Federal Register (link here(external link)) and available on the US harmonized tariff Schedule website (link here(external link)) when this information is updated.
We will be updating the MFAT Tariff Finder (link here(external link)) once more details are published. Given the changing nature of the situation, we suggest that you contact your US customers and/or freight forwarders to seek their views on the latest information.
Should you have further questions, please get in contact with us at us.exports@mfat.govt.nz
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