Proclamation modifies Section 232 metals tariff framework

On 1 June 2026 President Trump signed Proclamation 11032, “Further Adjusting the Tariff Regimes for Imports of Aluminum, Steel, and Copper Into the United States,” further modifying the § 232 metals tariff framework most recently overhauled by Proclamation 11021 of 2 April 2026, building on the original § 232 metals regime (Proclamation 9704 of 8 March 2018 for aluminum and Proclamation 9705 of 8 March 2018 for steel) and the § 232 copper regime added by Proclamation 10962 of July 2025.¹²³⁴ The proclamation sets a 50 percent standard ad valorem duty on covered primary metals and a 25 percent rate on covered derivative articles, creates a 15 percent rate (or rate- equivalent tier) for specified industrial-equipment categories, and lowers the qualifying U.S.-origin metal threshold for preferential treatment from 95 percent to 85 percent.¹⁵ The proclamation comes after the U.S. Supreme Court held on 20 February 2026 in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump that IEEPA does not authorise tariffs and after the U.S. Court of International Trade held the § 122 surcharge unlawful on 7 May 2026 with an injunction limited to three plaintiffs.⁶⁷ The instrument takes effect at 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on 8 June 2026; the framework runs through 31 December 2027, after which covered products revert to the rates set by Proclamation 11021.⁵

1. The proclamation invokes § 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, 19 U.S.C. § 1862, with the Commerce Department investigation predicate at § 1862(b)(3)(A), presidential action authority at § 1862(c)(1), and subsequent modification authority at § 1862(c)(3)(A); § 604 of the Trade Act of 1974, 19 U.S.C. § 2483, is the companion authority for conforming amendments to the Harmonised Tariff Schedule.⁸⁹ The proclamation’s Annexes I-A, I-B and I-C set out the covered primary-metal, derivative-article and industrial-equipment product groupings respectively; U.S. Customs and Border Protection collects under the unified HTSUS Chapter 99 subchapter III 9903.82.01 through 9903.82.26 series per CSMS # 68855869 of 5 June 2026.⁵¹⁰ Modification of a prior § 232 action does not require a new Commerce Department investigation under § 1862(c)(3)(A); a Department of Commerce recommendation informed the 1 June 2026 modifications.⁵

2. The Annex I-C industrial-equipment tier operates a four-tier country-of-origin rate structure: a 25 percent general rate; a calibrated 15 percent effective rate for products from Argentina, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and European Union member states; a 10 percent rate for products incorporating U.S.-origin metals; and, for USMCA-qualifying Canadian and Mexican products, a 25 percent rate on the non-U.S. metal content with a 15 percent rate floor.⁵ The Secretary of Commerce will issue guidance to U.S. Customs and Border Protection on assessing U.S. content for USMCA products.⁵ 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 relationship between EO 14289 and the proclamation’s revised rate structure for derivatives and industrial equipment, and the treatment of the copper coverage, are to be verified against the proclamation’s coverage and stacking paragraphs.¹¹

3. The proclamation contains no exception for goods already in transit at the 12:01 a.m. EDT 8 June 2026 effective moment, consistent with prior § 232 actions.⁵ Industry and foreign-government responses to the modification follow established patterns: the American Iron and Steel Institute (a trade association for U.S. integrated steel producers), the Steel Manufacturers Association (electric-arc-furnace producers) and the Aluminum Association (U.S. aluminum producers) typically support § 232 expansions, while downstream-user trade associations (the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, National Association of Home Builders and others) and the Government of Canada and the European Commission (under Regulation (EU) 654/2014 enforcement-of-rights measures and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/886 rebalancing measures) have opposed prior expansions.¹² The Association of Equipment Manufacturers welcomed the 15 percent agricultural-equipment tier; no named on-record statements from the producer associations or foreign governments on the 1 June 2026 proclamation itself appear in the record as of publication.¹³