Steel Import SIMA Changes

Steel Import SIMA Changes

On May 17, 2019, the United States announced joint understandings with Canada and Mexico, respectively, to eliminate tariffs imposed under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended, on imports of steel and aluminum products from Canada and Mexico and to establish a process for monitoring such imports.  This was published in the Federal Register on March 30, 2020.

Goal

The goal is to enhance the current Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) system to allow for the effective and timely monitoring of import surges of specific steel products which will aid in the prevention of transshipment of steel products. Public comments are allowed through April 29, 2020.

In Summary

• The country of origin for both the steel and the finished product will be required for steel licenses
• The scope of steel licenses will be expanded to cover most articles from Section 232
• This system will be made permanent. (It is currently set to expire March 2022)
• Eligibility would be increased for low-value steel licenses (from $250 per entry to $5,000 per entry).
  [The current low value is already $5000]

Background

According to the Federal Register, “The purpose of the SIMA system is to provide steel producers, steel consumers, importers, and the general public with accurate and timely information on anticipated imports of certain steel products into the United Start Printed Page 17516States. Steel import licenses, issued through the online SIMA licensing system, are required by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for filing entry summary documentation for imports of certain steel mill products into the United States. Through the monitoring tool, certain import data collected from the licenses are aggregated weekly and reported on the publicly available SIMA system website, https://enforcement.trade.gov/​steel/​license/​. This tool provides valuable data regarding certain steel mill imports into the United States as early as possible and makes such data available to the public approximately five weeks in advance of official U.S. import statistics compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau.”

Consulting

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