Example alert
Effective date, source URL, source notes, old/new treatment, and estimated annual impact are included when the official scope is clear enough to summarize.
Open the example HTS page: 3924.90.56.
Related alert workflows
When this alert is useful
This workflow is designed for importers who already know the codes they buy against and need a plain-English signal when official sources mention those codes, countries, or programs. It helps catch changes before a supplier quote, broker instruction, or purchase order turns into a surprise landed-cost increase.
The alert should trigger review, not autopilot. Your team still needs to confirm product facts, country of origin, entry timing, preference eligibility, and any scope language that is more specific than the HTS code alone. The highest-value alert is one that reaches the person who can pause a shipment, update a landed-cost sheet, or ask a broker for the official-source reading before goods move. Keep the saved code list narrow so every email maps to a real product line.
How the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs work in 2026 — rates, full-value assessment, and no metal stacking
Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 lets the President adjust imports that threaten national security, and it is the legal basis for the steel and aluminum metal tariffs. The program began in 2018 with a 25% duty on steel (Proclamation 9705) and 10% on aluminum (Proclamation 9704). It was sharply expanded in 2025: Proclamations 10895 (aluminum) and 10896 (steel) of February 10, 2025 raised aluminum to 25%, applied the duties to all countries and to derivative articles, and removed the prior country exemptions, quotas, and most exclusions; both rates were then raised to 50% effective June 4, 2025 (with the United Kingdom kept at 25% under a separate arrangement). A further proclamation signed April 2, 2026 restructured the program effective April 6, 2026: articles made entirely or almost entirely of steel, aluminum, or copper now pay 50% on their full customs value, derivative articles substantially made of those metals pay 25% on full value, certain metal-intensive industrial and electrical-grid equipment pays 15% through 2027, and goods made abroad from entirely U.S.-sourced metal pay 10%. Two structural rules matter most for landed cost: the duty is assessed on the full customs value of the product — not on an artificially split metal-only value as before — and the three covered metals do not stack, so a product containing more than one of them is charged the Section 232 metals duty once at the highest applicable rate. Products whose applicable metal content is 15% or less by weight are no longer subject to the metals duty. A further proclamation signed June 1, 2026 and effective June 8, 2026 (through December 31, 2027) kept these rate tiers but adjusted the framework: it lowered the threshold to qualify a product's metal as 'entirely' U.S.-melted-and-poured steel or U.S.-smelted-and-cast aluminum/copper from 95% to 85% by weight, expanded the 15% category and added Annex I-C, and granted targeted reductions for certain agricultural, HVAC, and mobile industrial equipment. The measures are implemented through Subchapter III of Chapter 99 of the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule, consolidated under the 9903.82 headings; CBP guidance CSMS 68253075 (effective April 6, 2026) and CSMS 68855869 (issued June 5, 2026, for the June 8, 2026 changes) carry the operational filing instructions.
Why a saved HTS code alone cannot settle Section 232 derivative scope — and what the alert does
Section 232 reaches well beyond primary steel and aluminum in Chapters 72-76; it also covers a long and expanding list of derivative articles whose HTS codes sit in other chapters. Commerce runs an inclusions process that periodically adds new derivative codes through Federal Register windows, so a subheading that is clear this quarter can be brought into scope later. Whether a derivative is covered — and at what rate — turns on the country where the steel was 'melted and poured' or the aluminum was 'smelted and cast,' the related origin and domestic-processing tests (the U.S.-content threshold to count metal as 'entirely' domestic dropped from 95% to 85% by weight effective June 8, 2026), the applicable metal content by weight for the 15% de minimis, and the controlling entry date, not on the eight-digit HTS code by itself. Because the duty now applies to the full customs value, importers also have to report metal content and origin accurately, and misreporting carries enforcement exposure. A saved-code alert is a review trigger that points you to the controlling CBP, Commerce/BIS, and Federal Register records; confirming coverage still requires reading the proclamation annexes and CSMS guidance for your entry date, and a Commerce inclusion or exclusion determination is the authoritative way to settle a close call.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariff rate in 2026?
As of the April 6, 2026 restructuring, articles made entirely or almost entirely of steel or aluminum carry a 50% duty on their full customs value, and derivative articles substantially made of those metals carry 25% on full value. Certain metal-intensive industrial and electrical-grid equipment is set at 15% through 2027, and goods made abroad from entirely U.S.-sourced metal at 10%; the United Kingdom has separate lower treatment. These are additional duties on top of the Column 1 General rate. Confirm the Chapter 99 9903.82 heading and metal content that apply to your specific HTS code and entry date before relying on a landed-cost figure.
Are Section 232 tariffs charged on the whole product or just the metal content?
Since April 6, 2026 the Section 232 duty is assessed on the full customs value of the imported product, including derivative articles — replacing the earlier method that split the value between covered-metal content and non-metal content. The one carve-out is the de minimis rule: products whose applicable steel, aluminum, or copper content is 15% or less by weight are no longer subject to the metals duty. Importers still have to report metal content and origin to apply the de minimis and content rules correctly.
Do steel, aluminum, and copper Section 232 tariffs stack on the same product?
No. A product containing more than one covered Section 232 metal is charged the metals duty once, at the highest single applicable rate, rather than separately for each metal. That no-stacking rule applies among the three Section 232 metals. Section 232 metals duties are still additional to the Column 1 General rate, and whether they combine with other programs such as Section 301 or AD/CVD depends on separate stacking rules and the entry date — confirm the current treatment in CBP guidance for your shipment.
How do I check whether my HTS code is subject to Section 232?
Open Subchapter III of Chapter 99 (the 9903.82 headings) in the USITC Harmonized Tariff Schedule for the entry date that controls your shipment, then check the steel and aluminum derivative annexes in the proclamations and the filing instructions in CBP CSMS 68253075 and the June 8, 2026 update CSMS 68855869. Because derivative coverage turns on melted-and-poured or smelted-and-cast origin, metal content by weight, and Commerce's inclusions list rather than the base HTS code, a matching code is a starting point, not a final answer. A saved-code alert from Tariff Sentinel flags when CBP, Commerce/BIS, or Federal Register notices touch your code, but the controlling reading still belongs to the official source and your customs broker.
Sources verified for this alert
- CBP: Section 232 Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum — Frequently Asked Questions (retrieved May 30, 2026)
- White House: Fact Sheet — Strengthening Tariffs on Steel, Aluminum, and Copper Imports (April 2, 2026) (retrieved Jun 15, 2026)
- CBP CSMS 68253075 — Guidance: Section 232 Duties on Imports of Aluminum, Steel, and Copper (effective April 6, 2026) (retrieved Jun 15, 2026)
- CBP CSMS 68855869 — Guidance: Section 232 adjustments effective June 8, 2026 (US-content threshold 95%→85%; targeted equipment reductions) (retrieved Jun 15, 2026)
- Federal Register: Adjusting Imports of Aluminum and Steel Into the United States (rates raised to 50%, June 2025) (retrieved Jun 15, 2026)
- USITC Harmonized Tariff Schedule — Chapter 99 (Section 232 overlays) (retrieved Jun 15, 2026)
Last verified: Jun 15, 2026. The rates, program scope, agency processes, and effective-date rules above were checked against the cited official sources on that date. Always confirm the controlling text in the official source for your specific code and entry date before filing or sourcing decisions.