[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 51 (Thursday, March 15, 2018)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 11625-11630]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-05478]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 83 , No. 51 / Thursday, March 15, 2018 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 11625]]
Proclamation 9705 of March 8, 2018
Adjusting Imports of Steel Into the United States
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
1. On January 11, 2018, the Secretary of Commerce
(Secretary) transmitted to me a report on his
investigation into the effect of imports of steel mill
articles (steel articles) on the national security of
the United States under section 232 of the Trade
Expansion Act of 1962, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1862).
2. The Secretary found and advised me of his opinion
that steel articles are being imported into the United
States in such quantities and under such circumstances
as to threaten to impair the national security of the
United States. The Secretary found that the present
quantities of steel articles imports and the
circumstances of global excess capacity for producing
steel are ``weakening our internal economy,'' resulting
in the persistent threat of further closures of
domestic steel production facilities and the
``shrinking [of our] ability to meet national security
production requirements in a national emergency.''
Because of these risks and the risk that the United
States may be unable to ``meet [steel] demands for
national defense and critical industries in a national
emergency,'' and taking into account the close relation
of the economic welfare of the Nation to our national
security, see 19 U.S.C. 1862(d), the Secretary
concluded that the present quantities and circumstances
of steel articles imports threaten to impair the
national security as defined in section 232 of the
Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended.
3. In reaching this conclusion, the Secretary
considered the previous U.S. Government measures and
actions on steel articles imports and excess capacity,
including actions taken under Presidents Reagan, George
H.W. Bush, Clinton, and George W. Bush. The Secretary
also considered the Department of Commerce's narrower
investigation of iron ore and semi-finished steel
imports in 2001, and found the recommendations in that
report to be outdated given the dramatic changes in the
steel industry since 2001, including the increased
level of global excess capacity, the increased level of
imports, the reduction in basic oxygen furnace
facilities, the number of idled facilities despite
increased demand for steel in critical industries, and
the potential impact of further plant closures on
capacity needed in a national emergency.
4. In light of this conclusion, the Secretary
recommended actions to adjust the imports of steel
articles so that such imports will not threaten to
impair the national security. Among those
recommendations was a global tariff of 24 percent on
imports of steel articles in order to reduce imports to
a level that the Secretary assessed would enable
domestic steel producers to use approximately 80
percent of existing domestic production capacity and
thereby achieve long-term economic viability through
increased production. The Secretary has also
recommended that I authorize him, in response to
specific requests from affected domestic parties, to
exclude from any adopted import restrictions those
steel articles for which the Secretary determines there
is a lack of sufficient U.S. production capacity of
comparable products, or to exclude steel articles from
such restrictions for specific national security-based
considerations.
[[Page 11626]]
5. I concur in the Secretary's finding that steel
articles are being imported into the United States in
such quantities and under such circumstances as to
threaten to impair the national security of the United
States, and I have considered his recommendations.
6. Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as
amended, authorizes the President to adjust the imports
of an article and its derivatives that are being
imported into the United States in such quantities or
under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the
national security.
7. Section 604 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19
U.S.C. 2483), authorizes the President to embody in the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS)
the substance of acts affecting import treatment, and
actions thereunder, including the removal,
modification, continuance, or imposition of any rate of
duty or other import restriction.
8. In the exercise of these authorities, I have decided
to adjust the imports of steel articles by imposing a
25 percent ad valorem tariff on steel articles, as
defined below, imported from all countries except
Canada and Mexico. In my judgment, this tariff is
necessary and appropriate in light of the many factors
I have considered, including the Secretary's report,
updated import and production numbers for 2017, the
failure of countries to agree on measures to reduce
global excess capacity, the continued high level of
imports since the beginning of the year, and special
circumstances that exist with respect to Canada and
Mexico. This relief will help our domestic steel
industry to revive idled facilities, open closed mills,
preserve necessary skills by hiring new steel workers,
and maintain or increase production, which will reduce
our Nation's need to rely on foreign producers for
steel and ensure that domestic producers can continue
to supply all the steel necessary for critical
industries and national defense. Under current
circumstances, this tariff is necessary and appropriate
to address the threat that imports of steel articles
pose to the national security.
9. In adopting this tariff, I recognize that our Nation
has important security relationships with some
countries whose exports of steel articles to the United
States weaken our internal economy and thereby threaten
to impair the national security. I also recognize our
shared concern about global excess capacity, a
circumstance that is contributing to the threatened
impairment of the national security. Any country with
which we have a security relationship is welcome to
discuss with the United States alternative ways to
address the threatened impairment of the national
security caused by imports from that country. Should
the United States and any such country arrive at a
satisfactory alternative means to address the threat to
the national security such that I determine that
imports from that country no longer threaten to impair
the national security, I may remove or modify the
restriction on steel articles imports from that country
and, if necessary, make any corresponding adjustments
to the tariff as it applies to other countries as our
national security interests require.
10. I conclude that Canada and Mexico present a special
case. Given our shared commitment to supporting each
other in addressing national security concerns, our
shared commitment to addressing global excess capacity
for producing steel, the physical proximity of our
respective industrial bases, the robust economic
integration between our countries, the export of steel
articles produced in the United States to Canada and
Mexico, and the close relation of the economic welfare
of the United States to our national security, see 19
U.S.C. 1862(d), I have determined that the necessary
and appropriate means to address the threat to the
national security posed by imports of steel articles
from Canada and Mexico is to continue ongoing
discussions with these countries and to exempt steel
articles imports from these countries from the tariff,
at least at this time. I expect that Canada and Mexico
will take action to prevent transshipment of steel
articles through Canada and Mexico to the United
States.
11. In the meantime, the tariff imposed by this
proclamation is an important first step in ensuring the
economic viability of our domestic steel industry.
[[Page 11627]]
Without this tariff and satisfactory outcomes in
ongoing negotiations with Canada and Mexico, the
industry will continue to decline, leaving the United
States at risk of becoming reliant on foreign producers
of steel to meet our national security needs--a
situation that is fundamentally inconsistent with the
safety and security of the American people. It is my
judgment that the tariff imposed by this proclamation
is necessary and appropriate to adjust imports of steel
articles so that such imports will not threaten to
impair the national security as defined in section 232
of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the
United States of America, by the authority vested in me
by the Constitution and the laws of the United States
of America, including section 301 of title 3, United
States Code, section 604 of the Trade Act of 1974, as
amended, and section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of
1962, as amended, do hereby proclaim as follows:
(1) For the purposes of this proclamation, ``steel
articles'' are defined at the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule (HTS) 6-digit level as: 7206.10 through
7216.50, 7216.99 through 7301.10, 7302.10, 7302.40
through 7302.90, and 7304.10 through 7306.90, including
any subsequent revisions to these HTS classifications.
(2) In order to establish increases in the duty rate on
imports of steel articles, subchapter III of chapter 99
of the HTSUS is modified as provided in the Annex to
this proclamation. Except as otherwise provided in this
proclamation, or in notices published pursuant to
clause 3 of this proclamation, all steel articles
imports specified in the Annex shall be subject to an
additional 25 percent ad valorem rate of duty with
respect to goods entered, or withdrawn from warehouse
for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern
daylight time on March 23, 2018. This rate of duty,
which is in addition to any other duties, fees,
exactions, and charges applicable to such imported
steel articles, shall apply to imports of steel
articles from all countries except Canada and Mexico.
(3) The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary
of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary
of Defense, the United States Trade Representative
(USTR), the Assistant to the President for National
Security Affairs, the Assistant to the President for
Economic Policy, and such other senior Executive Branch
officials as the Secretary deems appropriate, is hereby
authorized to provide relief from the additional duties
set forth in clause 2 of this proclamation for any
steel article determined not to be produced in the
United States in a sufficient and reasonably available
amount or of a satisfactory quality and is also
authorized to provide such relief based upon specific
national security considerations. Such relief shall be
provided for a steel article only after a request for
exclusion is made by a directly affected party located
in the United States. If the Secretary determines that
a particular steel article should be excluded, the
Secretary shall, upon publishing a notice of such
determination in the Federal Register, notify Customs
and Border Protection (CBP) of the Department of
Homeland Security concerning such article so that it
will be excluded from the duties described in clause 2
of this proclamation. The Secretary shall consult with
CBP to determine whether the HTSUS provisions created
by the Annex to this proclamation should be modified in
order to ensure the proper administration of such
exclusion, and, if so, shall make such modification to
the HTSUS through a notice in the Federal Register.
(4) Within 10 days after the date of this proclamation,
the Secretary shall issue procedures for the requests
for exclusion described in clause 3 of this
proclamation. The issuance of such procedures is exempt
from Executive Order 13771 of January 30, 2017
(Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs).
(5) (a) The modifications to the HTSUS made by the
Annex to this proclamation shall be effective with
respect to goods entered, or withdrawn from warehouse
for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern
daylight time
[[Page 11628]]
on March 23, 2018, and shall continue in effect, unless
such actions are expressly reduced, modified, or
terminated.
(b) The Secretary shall continue to monitor imports
of steel articles and shall, from time to time, in
consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary
of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, the USTR,
the Assistant to the President for National Security
Affairs, the Assistant to the President for Economic
Policy, the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget, and such other senior Executive Branch
officials as the Secretary deems appropriate, review
the status of such imports with respect to the national
security. The Secretary shall inform the President of
any circumstances that in the Secretary's opinion might
indicate the need for further action by the President
under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962,
as amended. The Secretary shall also inform the
President of any circumstance that in the Secretary's
opinion might indicate that the increase in duty rate
provided for in this proclamation is no longer
necessary.
(6) Any provision of previous proclamations and
Executive Orders that is inconsistent with the actions
taken in this proclamation is superseded to the extent
of such inconsistency.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
eighth day of March, in the year of our Lord two
thousand eighteen, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
second.
(Presidential Sig.)
Billing code 3295-F8-P
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[FR Doc. 2018-05478
Filed 3-14-18; 11:15 am]
Billing code 7020-02-C