On August 15, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a draft Federal Register notice adding hundreds of tariff subheadings to the list of steel and aluminum derivative products subject to Section 232 tariffs imposed in June. The newly announced duties apply to the steel and aluminum content of derivative products that are entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on August 18.
President Trump issued a pair of proclamations in February ordering the Secretary of Commerce to modify the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) to expand tariffs on steel and aluminum and eliminate exclusions. In May, BIS conducted a two-week submission process, with representatives of domestic industry suggesting products for inclusion in the tariff. In a further June proclamation, President Trump raised tariffs from 25% to 50% on steel and aluminum products. Two weeks after the imposition of the 50% tariff, the BIS issued guidance clarifying that the new tariff would include consumer household appliances, like refrigerators, washing machines, and dishwashers that contain steel.
The revisions to the HTS significantly expand the range of products subject to the steel and aluminum tariffs. The BIS notice lists 407 new classifications of the HTS for inclusion. According to the draft Federal Register notice, 60 other HTS classifications were excluded from the list because they are subject to other ongoing investigations or other trade statutes. The revisions confirm that the duty applies to a vast swathe of steel- and aluminum-containing consumer and industrial products – from mufflers, to various industrial chemicals, to personal care products containing aluminum.
Under the Section 232 tariff, the 50% duty applies to the steel and aluminum content of imported steel and aluminum products, with the non-steel and aluminum content being subject to applicable reciprocal tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Since the US administration amended the tariff stacking order in June 2025, articles identified as subject to the steel and aluminum Section 232 tariffs are subject to both based on the steel and/or aluminum content of the articles. Articles on the list that are for use in passenger vehicles and/or light trucks will continue to be excluded from the steel/aluminum Section 232 tariffs and reciprocal tariffs and will instead continue to be subject to the Section 232 automotive tariffs.
