Section 232 National Security Tariffs: Rates, Exemptions, and Compliance

The Section 232 national security tariffs are import duties the President can impose under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 when the Secretary of Commerce finds that a category of imports threatens national security. As of April 2026, they cover steel, aluminum, copper, automobiles, and thousands of derivative products, at rates that run from 10 to 50 percent depending on the product, its metal content, and where the metal was produced.¹ Country-level exemptions have been revoked, and the individual product exclusion process is closed.

What Section 232 Actually Covers

The legal authority sits in 19 U.S.C. §1862. It differs from anti-dumping or countervailing duties, which target unfair pricing or foreign subsidies on specific goods. Section 232 focuses on whether reliance on foreign supply weakens the domestic industrial base that supports military readiness and economic stability. The statute expressly ties economic welfare to national security, so the analysis is not limited to strictly military considerations.²

Once the President acts on a Commerce finding, the tariff has no statutory expiration. That is why the 2018 steel and aluminum duties have stayed in force through multiple expansions, and why the current 2025 and 2026 proclamations sit on top of that earlier framework rather than replacing it.

Current Tariff Rates by Product

The rate structure was reorganized by the April 2026 proclamation into tiers based on how much steel, aluminum, or copper an imported product contains, and where that metal was produced. The rates apply to the full customs value of the imported product, not just the metal content.³

Steel and Aluminum

Proclamation 10947, signed in June 2025, raised the tariff on steel and aluminum articles and their derivatives to 50 percent ad valorem.⁴ Current tiers are:¹

50 percent on articles made entirely or almost entirely of steel or aluminum, such as steel coils and aluminum sheet.
25 percent on derivative articles substantially made of steel or aluminum.
15 percent on metal-intensive industrial equipment and electrical grid equipment, through 2027.
10 percent on products manufactured abroad using steel that was melted and poured in the United States, or aluminum that was smelted and cast domestically.
No Section 232 metals tariff on products containing 15 percent or less steel or aluminum by weight.

The specific products in each tier are identified by Harmonized Tariff Schedule codes listed in Annexes published with the proclamation.⁵

Copper

Copper became the third metal under Section 232 through Proclamation 10962, signed in July 2025. The April 2026 proclamation aligned copper’s rates with steel and aluminum: 50 percent on most copper articles, 25 percent on listed copper derivative articles, and 10 percent on articles made from copper smelted and cast in the United States.³

Automobiles and Auto Parts

Proclamation 10908, issued in March 2025, imposed Section 232 tariffs on automobiles and certain automobile parts under a separate framework from the metals tariffs, with its own covered product lists and timeline.⁶

Country Exemptions Are Gone

From 2018 through 2022, several trading partners had full exemptions, absolute quotas, or tariff-rate quotas that let a set volume of metal enter duty-free. Those arrangements ended. Proclamations 10895 and 10896, issued in February 2025, revoked every country-level exemption, quota, and alternative arrangement effective March 12, 2025. No country currently receives preferential treatment under Section 232 for steel, aluminum, or copper.⁷

The April 2026 proclamation added a narrow carve-out for countries with formal Agreements on Reciprocal Trade with the United States. Importers of products from the United Kingdom, the European Union, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and Mexico may be eligible for manufacturing duty drawback on certain derivative articles, provided the metal was smelted, cast, or poured in those countries.³ Drawback is a refund after the fact, not an exemption at entry, so duties are still paid upfront.

Reductions and Exceptions That Are Still Available

A handful of exceptions in the April 2026 proclamation can meaningfully cut costs:

De minimis metal content. If the combined weight of steel, aluminum, and copper is 15 percent or less of the total product weight, and the product falls outside HTS chapters 72, 73, 74, and 76, Section 232 tariffs don’t apply.¹
Domestic metal content. Derivative articles made from American-produced metal pay 10 percent instead of 25 or 50 percent. Steel must have been melted and poured in the United States; aluminum and copper must have been smelted and cast domestically.
Civil aircraft and parts, for countries with Agreements on Reciprocal Trade.
Motorcycle parts imported for use in motorcycle manufacturing that are classified within specified HTS chapters.

Each of these depends on correct classification at the time of entry. A wrong classification claim exposes the importer to substantial penalties, so getting the HTS code right upfront matters more than it looks.

The Exclusion Process Is Closed

For years, importers could apply for a product-specific exclusion when the item they needed wasn’t available from a domestic supplier. That process no longer exists. As of February 10, 2025, the Department of Commerce stopped accepting, processing, or issuing Section 232 exclusion requests for steel and aluminum, and the same proclamations revoked all General Approved Exclusions.⁷

Exclusions granted and activated before the cutoff remain valid until they expire or the approved quantity is used up, whichever comes first. Approved exclusions were typically valid for one year from signature.⁸ There is no renewal. Once an existing exclusion runs out, imports revert to the standard tariff rate.

Compliance Obligations for Importers

CBP holds the importer of record responsible for accurate classification and duty payment. Every entry of goods subject to Section 232 duties requires a formal entry filing. Goods that might otherwise qualify for informal entry under the Section 321 de minimis exemption cannot use that shortcut if they are subject to Section 232 quota restrictions.⁸ Steel or aluminum articles admitted into a foreign trade zone must enter as “privileged foreign status” and are subject to the applicable tariff rate when consumed.

Importers must exercise what CBP calls “reasonable care” in classification. The party making entry certifies that the declared classification is consistent with all documentation and that the information is true and correct to the best of the importer’s knowledge. CBP does not require a certificate of analysis at entry for aluminum, but can request one at any time. For companies still operating under a previously granted exclusion, the importer has to track quantities imported and ensure the approved amount is not exceeded. Any excess pays the full tariff.

Sets sold at retail can trigger Section 232 duties too. If the item that gives the set its “essential character” falls within a covered HTS subheading, the entire set pays the additional tariff on its full value.

Penalties for Misclassification

Misclassifying imports to avoid Section 232 duties falls under 19 U.S.C. §1592, which prohibits entering goods through any materially false statement, document, or omission. Penalties scale with culpability:⁹

Fraud: a civil penalty up to the full domestic value of the merchandise.
Gross negligence: up to the lesser of the domestic value or four times the unpaid duties, capped at 40 percent of the dutiable value if duties were unaffected.
Negligence: up to the lesser of the domestic value or two times the unpaid duties, capped at 20 percent of the dutiable value if duties were unaffected.

CBP also collects the full amount of unpaid duties on top of the penalty. A prior disclosure program reduces penalties for importers who come forward before a formal investigation begins: negligence or gross negligence drops to interest on the unpaid duties, and fraud drops to 100 percent of the unpaid duties.

With rates now reaching 50 percent, even a negligent misclassification can generate six-figure penalties on a moderately sized shipment. Accurate classification upfront is far cheaper than fixing it after liquidation.

Challenging an Assessment

An importer who disagrees with a duty assessment can file a protest with CBP using Form 19 within 180 days after notice of liquidation. The protest must identify the specific entry numbers, the merchandise, and the legal grounds for the objection.¹⁰ If CBP denies the protest, the importer has another 180 days to bring a civil action in the U.S. Court of International Trade.

The Court of International Trade has jurisdiction over these cases under 28 U.S.C. §1581(i), which covers civil actions arising from tariffs, duties, or fees imposed for reasons other than raising revenue. The court reviews agency decisions under the Administrative Procedure Act’s “arbitrary and capricious” standard. It will not substitute its own judgment for the agency’s, but it will strike down decisions where the agency failed to examine the relevant data, didn’t articulate a satisfactory explanation, or drew conclusions with no rational connection to the record.¹¹ The two-step protest-then-suit path is the standard route for recovering duties an importer believes were incorrectly assessed, including entries that should have been covered by a still-valid exclusion but were liquidated at the full rate.

1
The White House. Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Strengthens Tariffs on Steel, Aluminum, and Copper Imports
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 19 USC 1862 – Safeguarding National Security
3
The White House. Strengthening Actions Taken to Adjust Imports of Aluminum, Steel, and Copper Into the United States
4
Federal Register. Adjusting Imports of Aluminum and Steel Into the United States
5
The White House. Annexes I-A, I-B, II, III, IV
6
Federal Register. Notice of the Opening of the Inclusions Window for the Section 232 Automobile Parts Tariff
7
Bureau of Industry and Security. Section 232 Steel and Aluminum
8
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Section 232 Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum Frequently Asked Questions
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 19 USC 1592 – Penalties for Fraud, Gross Negligence, and Negligence
10
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. CBP Form 19: Protest
11
United States Court of International Trade. Seneca Foods Corp. v. United States (Slip Op. 24-117)