Commerce Grants 45 Section 232 Exclusion Requests on Remand at CIT

The Commerce Department reversed course on 45 Section 232 steel and aluminum tariff exclusion bids, granting the requests on remand at the Court of International Trade. Submitting the results of its voluntary remand request in an April 18 submission, Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security granted importer Mirror Metals' exclusion requests, finding that the bids should be granted after looking at whether the relevant steel article could be made at a sufficient level in the U.S. (Mirror Metals v. United States, CIT #21-00144).

Mirror Metals submitted 45 Section 232 exclusion requests for flat-rolled stainless steel products used in large-scale architectural projects. The requests were denied since Commerce originally found that there was enough domestic capacity to make the products in question in the amount needed by the importer.

Mirror Metals, in launching its case against the denials, said that the exclusion requests were denied "with no reasoning or analysis," and that Commerce erred by engaging in "undocumented, ex parte communications" with the three objectors. Further, Commerce denied 11 of the requests on the grounds that CBP advised Commerce that the product descriptions in the requests were inconsistent with the claimed classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. Mirror Metals said that these denials, made without first providing notice or an opportunity to fix the requests, are arbitrary and unreasonable. Commerce then requested another go at the exclusion requests (see 2111190056).

The result was the granting of the 45 requests. "In examining this request and evaluating whether the relevant steel article is produced in the United States in a sufficient and reasonably available amount or of a satisfactory quality, the Department of Commerce has fully considered all of the evidence and information and finds that this exclusion request should be granted," BIS said for all 45 requests.