Proclamation 11021 consolidates Section 232 metals framework

On 2 April 2026 President Trump signed Proclamation 11021, “Strengthening Actions Taken To Adjust Imports of Aluminum, Steel, and Copper Into the United States,” amending the Section 232 aluminum regime (Proclamation 9704 of 8 March 2018), the steel regime (Proclamation 9705 of 8 March 2018) and the copper regime (Proclamation 10962 of 30 July 2025) into a unified framework effective 12:01 a.m. EDT on 6 April 2026, and terminating the product-inclusion processes of the predecessor instruments.¹² The proclamation sets a 50 percent ad valorem duty on covered primary metals (Annex I-A) — applied, in the framework’s signature change, to the full customs value of the article regardless of metal content — a 25 percent rate on select copper and derivative articles (Annex I-B), a 200 percent rate on products of Russia, a reduced United Kingdom rate, a 10 percent rate for qualifying U.S.-content articles and a transitional Annex III tier (minimum 15 percent) running through 31 December 2027 with reversion to Annex I-B rates on 1 January 2028, with a 95 percent U.S.-melted-or-poured (steel) and U.S.-smelted-and-cast (aluminum) certification threshold for preferential treatment.¹ The proclamation comes six weeks after the Supreme Court held 6-3 in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump on 20 February 2026 (Roberts, C.J., for the Court; Kavanaugh, J., dissenting, joined by Thomas and Alito, JJ.) that IEEPA’s grant at 50 U.S.C. § 1702(a)(1)(B) to “regulate … importation” does not authorise the President to impose tariffs; § 232 becomes the principal remaining statutory tariff vehicle available to the administration.³ Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, 19 U.S.C. § 1862 — with subsection-level authority at § 1862(b)(3)(A) (Commerce investigation predicate), § 1862(c)(1) (presidential action authority) and § 1862(c)(3)(A) (subsequent modification of a § 232 action without a new investigation) — provides the operative authority; § 604 of the Trade Act of 1974, 19 U.S.C. § 2483, is the companion authority for conforming amendments to the Harmonised Tariff Schedule.⁴⁵

1. The unified framework carries forward the 50 percent primary-metals rate established for steel and aluminum by Proclamation 10947 of 3 June 2025 (the February 2025 Proclamations 10895 and 10896 had set 25 percent), and extends the full-customs-value basis to copper — under Proclamation 10962 the 50 percent copper duty had applied only to the value of the copper content of covered semi-finished and derivative articles. The 95 percent U.S.-origin content threshold for preferential treatment applies to the “melted and poured” (steel) and “smelted and cast” (aluminum) certifications administered through the proclamation Annexes and CBP Cargo Systems Messaging Service guidance.¹⁶ U.S. Customs and Border Protection collects under the unified HTSUS Chapter 99 subchapter III 9903.82.02 through 9903.82.17 series per CSMS # 68253075 of 3 April 2026; no separate CBP Federal Register implementing notice issued.⁷

2. Country-specific treatment under the unified framework is narrow: the United Kingdom retains a reduced rate (25 percent, against the 50 percent base) preserved from the June 2025 rate increase, and products of Russia carry the 200 percent rate; the framework does not carry forward European Union or Argentina quota arrangements from the pre-2025 regimes. USMCA-qualifying Canadian and Mexican metals receive the treatment specified in the proclamation’s annexes, with the Secretary of Commerce to issue guidance to CBP on assessing U.S. content.⁸ Executive Order 14289 of 29 April 2025 establishes anti-stacking precedence for a closed set of five enumerated actions including § 232 steel and § 232 aluminum; the proclamation provides that it supersedes conflicting provisions of earlier executive orders and proclamations, and the § 232 copper coverage remains outside the EO 14289 closed set.⁹

3. The framework runs through 31 December 2027; covered products revert to the rate structure established by Proclamation 11021 on 1 January 2028 absent a successor instrument (the 1 June 2026 amending proclamation specifically provides for reversion to Proclamation 11021 rates after the 31 December 2027 sunset).¹¹⁰ The proclamation operates alongside the residual tariff toolkit available to the administration: the § 122 surcharge effective 24 February 2026 (then facing CIT challenges consolidated as The State of Oregon v. United States and Burlap and Barrel, Inc. v. United States) under 19 U.S.C. § 2132, which permits an additional ad valorem surcharge of up to 15 percent for not more than 150 days only to deal “with large and serious United States balance-of-payments deficits,” to “prevent an imminent and significant depreciation of the dollar in foreign exchange markets,” or to “cooperate with other countries in correcting an international balance-of-payments disequilibrium” under § 2132(a), which also sets the 150-day limit and its extension by Act of Congress; and the 11 March 2026 USTR § 301 investigations under 19 U.S.C. § 2411 with respect to 16 trading partners across 21 sectors, with 12-month determination deadline at 19 U.S.C. § 2414(a)(2).¹¹¹²

Corrections

• 2026-09-24: The post placed the 150-day limit on § 122 surcharges at 19 U.S.C. § 2132(b) and described an extension by joint resolution under § 2132(d). The 15 percent cap, the 150-day limit and extension “by Act of Congress” are all in § 2132(a); § 2132(b) is the national-interest exception and § 2132(d) concerns nondiscriminatory treatment.¹¹