Leibowitz on Trade: Steel and Aluminum Exclusions—Is Reform in the Air?

Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington:

Today, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security published a notice in the Federal Register entitled “Notice of Inquiry Regarding the Exclusion Process for Section 232 Steel and Aluminum Import Tariffs and Quotas.” The notice asks for comments on numerous issues relevant to the steel and aluminum product exclusion process. I have written about exclusions a number of times before in this space. This is the fourth major event since March 2018. First, the original regulations implementing the steel and aluminum product exclusions were published that month. In September 2018, significant reforms were announced by BIS. Then, in June 2019, BIS announced the launch of a new and different “232 Exclusions Portal,” featuring a new method of filing and some revised questions. This notice asks the public for comments on several issues, some indicating that BIS is thinking about tightening the exclusion standards for requesters and others suggesting increased scrutiny of objections to exclusion requests.