May 17, 2019

Section 232: Steel And Aluminum Tariffs

Joint Statement by Canada and the United States on Section 232 Duties
on Steel and Aluminum Tariffs

After extensive discussions on trade in steel and aluminum covered by
the action taken pursuant to Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of
1962 (19 U.S.C. §1862), the United States and Canada have reached an
understanding as follows:

1. The United States and Canada agree to eliminate, no later
than two days from the issuance of this statement:

a. All tariffs the United States imposed under Section 232 on
imports of steel and aluminum products from Canada; and

b. All tariffs Canada imposed in retaliation for the Section 232
action taken by the United States (identified in Customs Notice 18-08
Surtaxes Imposed on Certain Products Originating in the United States,
issued by the Canada Border Services Agency on June 29, 2018, and
revised on July 11, 2018).

2. The United States and Canada agree to terminate all pending litigation
between them in the World Trade Organization regarding the Section 232 action.

3. The United States and Canada will implement effective measures to:

a. Prevent the importation of steel and aluminum that is
unfairly subsidized and/or sold at dumped prices; and

b. Prevent the transshipment of steel and aluminum made outside
of Canada or the United States to the other country. Canada and the
The United States will consult together on these measures.

4. The United States and Canada will establish an agreed-upon
process for monitoring steel and aluminum trade between them. In
monitoring for surges, either country may treat products made with
steel that is melted and poured in North America separately from
products that are not.

5. In the event that imports of steel or aluminum products surge
meaningfully beyond historic volumes of trade over a period of time,
with consideration of market share, the importing country may request
consultations with the exporting country. After such consultations,
the importing party may impose duties of 25 percent for steel and 10
percent for aluminum in respect to the individual product(s) where the
surge took place (on the basis of the individual product categories
set forth in the attached chart). If the importing party takes such
action, the exporting country agrees to retaliate only in the affected
sector (i.e., aluminum and aluminum-containing products or steel).