President Trump issued two presidential proclamations on Monday, February 10, 2025, that make significant changes to the Section 232 tariffs on steel (25%) and aluminum (10%) that the president initially imposed in his first term. The revised measures, which are slated to become effective on March 12, 2025, eliminate country exemptions and product exclusions; expand the tariffs to include certain downstream products; establish new processes to include additional downstream products; direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection ("CBP") to prioritize enforcement; and, in the case of aluminum, increase the existing tariff rate from 10% to 25%. In short, the proclamations significantly expand the scope of the prior steel and aluminum tariffs, and they remove flexibilities that the first Trump and Biden Administrations had built into them.
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