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  5. QB 18-132 Announcement: Absolute Quota Product Exclusion Process

QB 18-132 Announcement: Absolute Quota Product Exclusion Process

On May 31, 2018, the President issued a Presidential Proclamation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, providing for an absolute quota for imports of steel mill articles from Argentina, Brazil and South Korea, effective for goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on June 1, 2018.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Trade (OT) is providing guidance for the entry filing of imports of steel mill articles and aluminum products granted relief, under section 232 of the Trade Expansion ACT of 1962 from absolute quota by the Secretary of Commerce, paragraphs (1) and (2) of Presidential Proclamation 9777 (83 FR 45026, Vol. 171 September 4, 2018).  ACE is programmed to process imports granted relief from quantitative limits.

Importers or filers must submit a copy of the approved Department of Commerce (DOC) quota product exclusion with the approved importer of record number to traderemedy@dhs.gov and carbon copy the quota and Agriculture Branch HQQuota@cbp.dhs.gov. Only products from importer(s) designated in the product exclusion approved by the DOC are eligible for the exclusion from the Section 232 measures.

CBP must activate the product exclusion number before any quota exemption can be processed, and goods subject to the quota exemption can be released.

COMMODITY:

Steel Mill Articles as specified in Presidential Proclamation

Merchandise subject to absolute quota may also be subject to antidumping and countervailing duty.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

Date of DOC product exclusion approval

REPORTING INSTRUCTIONS:

For quota merchandise, use entry type code 02, 06, 07, 12, 23, 32, 38, or 52

HARMONIZED TARIFF SCHEDULE:

9903.80.60 – Steel Mill or Aluminum Articles non-expedited quota approval OR

9903.80.61 – Steel Mill Articles expedited quota approval

Do NOT submit any other HTS, including any other Chapter 99 HTS

COUNTRIES COVERED:

Argentina, Brazil and South Korea

DUTY RATE:

As Specified for product exclusion

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS:

If quota amount is still available under the absolute quota category under which the import is classified, follow the following filing instructions:

In addition to reporting the regular Chapters 72 & 73 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) classification for the imported merchandise, importers shall report the following HTS classification for imported merchandise subject to the relief:

9903.80.60 – Steel Mill or Aluminum Articles non-expedited quota approval OR

9903.80.61 – Steel Mill Articles expedited quota approval

ENTERED VALUE INFORMATION:

The entered value of the commodity being imported should be reported on the appropriate Chapter 1-97 HTS classification. 

Exception: Chapter 98 reporting provisions may require the entered value to be reported differently.  Please refer to the “HTS Sequence” instructions in CSMS # 18-000624.

The filer must transmit the product exclusion number in the importer additional declaration field (54 record) of the entry summary data, based on the following format: 

For excluded steel mill articles = STLXXXXXX

For excluded aluminum products = ALUXXXXXX

XXXXXX represent the last six digits of the Regulations.gov approval number; do not include spaces or special characters, such as hyphens.

Example:  If a steel exclusion is granted under product exclusion docket number BIS-2018-0009-9002, the importer/filer should submit the exclusion number STL099002 (i.e. STL plus the last six digits of the docket number).

Please refer to the Importer’s Additional Declaration Detail (Input 54-Record) of the CBP and Trade Automated Interfaces Requirements (CATAIR) Manual for further guidance.  The CATAIR document can be found at https://www.cbp.gov/document/guidance/ace-abi-catair-entry-summary-createupdate.

If the quota amount has filled under the absolute quota category under which the import is classified, follow the following filing instructions:

In addition to reporting the regular Chapters 72 & 73 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) classification for the imported merchandise, importers shall report the following HTS classification for imported merchandise subject to the relief:

9903.80.60 – Steel Mill or Aluminum Articles non-expedited quota approval OR

9903.80.61 – Steel Mill Articles expedited quota approval

As above, be sure to use quota entry type (entry types 02, 06, 07, 23, 32, or 38).

For imported shipments, which have not been approved or pending application approval by DOC, it is recommended that goods be entered into warehouse to minimize import process disruption and reduce associated import charges.  Failure to follow these instructions may result in the quota exemption not processing and the entry being rejected.

The quota product exclusion application process is managed by the DOC and questions related to the process or application status should be referred to DOC. Additional information on DOC exclusion and objection process is listed at steel232@bis.doc.gov.

Questions from the importing community regarding this electronic message should be referred to headquarters Quota and Agriculture Branch at (202) 325-6372, or by email to HQQUOTA@cbp.dhs.gov.

Last Modified: Dec 09, 2020