Careers

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Experience

Innovation

Interactive Maps

Locations

About

Pages

Meet our team of innovators
Ask us how we do it

Professionals

Insights

Services

Thompson Hine LLP, a full-service business law firm with approximately 400 lawyers in 11 offices, was ranked number 1 in the category “Most innovative North American law firms: New working models” by The Financial Times and was 1 of 7 firms shortlisted for The American Lawyer’s inaugural Legal Services Innovation Award. The firm has been recognized by the National Law Journal as a Legal Technology Trailblazer and featured by Bloomberg for its innovative service delivery models, which drive accuracy and predictability. The firm’s commitment to innovation is embodied in Thompson Hine SmartPaTHTM – a smarter way to work – predictable, efficient and aligned with client goals. For more information, please visit ThompsonHine.com and ThompsonHine.com/SmartPaTH.

Home | Thompson Hine LLP

Atlanta

Chicago

Cincinnati

Cleveland

Columbus

Dayton

Los Angeles

Minneapolis

New York

Silicon Valley

Washington, D.C.

With the deadline approaching for full implementation of the Section 232 tariffs on certain steel and aluminum imports, President Trump on April 30, 2018 relented to increasing pressure and extended the tariff exemptions for key U.S. allies until June 1, 2018. In making the announcement, the Trump administration announced that it had previously reached a final agreement with South Korea on steel imports and has also reached agreements in principle with Argentina, Australia and Brazil on both steel and aluminum imports. In addition, the president indicated that he was extending the country-based exemptions for Canada, Mexico and the European Union for a final 30 days. In all these negotiations, the administration has been focused &ldquo;on quotas that will restrain imports, prevent transshipment, and protect the national security.&rdquo; Until June 1, 2018, the United States will maintain current tariff levels for Canada, Mexico and the EU.
The president previously noted in <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2018-06425" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Presidential Proclamation 9711</a> that the tariffs, initially implemented on March 23, 2018 for most U.S. trading partners, would be extended until May 1, 2018 in recognition of the important security relationship between the United States and these countries while the parties sought alternative means to address the threatened impairment to U.S. national security by imports of steel and aluminum articles from those countries. Unless exempted, the tariffs under these Section 232 trade actions are 25 percent on certain imported steel and 10 percent on certain imported aluminum. Separate from the White House June 1 extension announcement, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross stated that these countries will have to agree to reduce the volume of their exports to the United States, indicating that &ldquo;If people don&rsquo;t have the tariffs, and they don&rsquo;t have the quota, that would defeat the whole purpose&rdquo; of the Section 232 investigations and recommended actions.
It is already known that South Korea has agreed to cap its annual steel exports to the United States at approximately 70 percent of the country&rsquo;s annual shipments from 2015 to 2017; the aluminum tariff remains in place for South Korea. While yesterday&rsquo;s announcement indicated that agreements had been reached with Australia, Argentina and Brazil, no details were made available. Negotiations will continue with the remaining countries subject to the extensions (Canada, Mexico and the EU), significant U.S. steel and aluminum trade partners, for the next 30 days.
For additional details on these extensions, see <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2018-09841" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Presidential Proclamation Adjusting Imports of Steel into the United States</a> and <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2018-09840" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Presidential Proclamation Adjusting Imports of Aluminum into the United States</a>.

core/freeform

SmarTrade

President Trump Extends Section 232 Country-Based Tariff Exemptions