Evolving U.S. Tariffs: Key Updates to Section 232 and 301

With the Supreme Court’s invalidation of President Trump’s International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariff regime, the trade community has been closely monitoring recent executive orders and announcements to determine how the president will proceed with his protectionist agenda. Recent developments suggest the use of alternative trade statutes to re-create and expand on the previous tariff environment.

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Section 301 Investigations

On March 11, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced new investigations under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 “regarding the acts, policies, and practices of certain economies relating to structural excess capacity and production in certain manufacturing sectors.”

Specifically, USTR announced investigations into the following countries: China, the EU, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Mexico, Japan and India.

This was followed by the March 12 announcement of separate Section 301 investigations into whether more than 60 U.S. trading partners have failed to “impose and effectively enforce a ban on the importation of goods produced with forced labor,” and whether such failures can be considered to burden or restrict U.S. commerce. All countries under investigation for excess capacity also appear to be subject to the forced labor inquiry.

The dockets for both investigations closed to public comment on April 15. The Section 301 Committee subsequently held public hearings related to the forced labor and structural excess capacity investigations April 28–May 1 and May 5–8, respectively, at the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington, D.C. Based on public statements from USTR Ambassador Greer, it is clear that the administration intends to conclude these investigations as quickly as possible, minimizing any gap in country-specific tariffs following the expiration of the temporary Section 122 tariffs on July 24, 2026.

On June 2, 2026, USTR took its first concrete step in that direction, issuing proposed responsive actions in the forced labor investigations: additional Section 301 duties of 10% on imports from 14 economies and 12.5% on imports from the remaining 46 investigated economies, subject to product carve-outs in Annex A (including USMCA- and CAFTA-DR-qualifying goods, certain agricultural and aerospace inputs, and select metals). Written comments are due July 6, 2026, with a public hearing on July 7.

However, the consultative nature of the Section 301 investigative process means the imposition of IEEPA-adjacent tariff rates on trading partners is by no means guaranteed. Instead, this may result in a more dynamic framework in which, if USTR identifies actionable instances of excess capacity or forced labor, resulting tariff outcomes are negotiated rather than imposed unilaterally. Existing Section 301 exclusions on Chinese-origin imports suggest that any new tariffs may be specific to the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTSUS) or industry specific.

Section 232 Tariff Regime Modifications

On April 2, the Trump administration issued a sweeping proclamation titled “Strengthening Actions Taken to Adjust Imports of Aluminum, Steel, and Copper into the United States,” marking a significant adjustment to the Section 232 tariff regime reimposed by the administration in March 2025.

The proclamation established a tiered tariff rate approach for various products subject to Section 232:

50% tariffs on products made entirely or almost entirely of imported steel, aluminum or copper (i.e., most of HTSUS Chapters 72, 73, 74 and 76)
25% duty on all remaining steel, aluminum and copper derivative articles

Preferential tariff rates apply to:

Eligible metal products originating from the United Kingdom (25% for steel and aluminum; 15% for copper)
U.S.-origin metal products that are exported for processing and then re-imported (10%)

This creates a far more granular tariff framework tied closely to origin and sourcing strategy.

One of the most significant changes introduced by the proclamation is the elimination of the “metal content limitation” for covered products. Section 232 duties now apply to the full customs value of aluminum, steel and copper articles and their derivatives, regardless of metal content percentage.

Additionally, the preexisting derivative product inclusion process has been eliminated. In its place, the Department of Commerce and USTR are now authorized to add new derivative products to the Section 232 scope on a rolling basis when imports are deemed to threaten national security or appear designed to circumvent existing tariffs.

While the termination of the inclusion process benefits importers whose products were listed in the October 2025 submission cycle, it also increases the risk of future scope expansion by agencies aligned with the administration’s trade agenda.

Finally, the proclamation removes certain products from tariff coverage via Annex II (primarily articles classified in HTSUS Chapters 1–71, along with select additional chapters) and establishes temporarily reduced 15% tariff rates for certain products (primarily metal-intensive industrial equipment and electrical grid components) under Annex III, effective through 2027. These annexes provide limited relief, but only for specified products for a defined duration, subject to revision.

Underscoring that point, on June 1, 2026 the administration issued a follow-on proclamation that further refined this framework, including by moving agricultural and residential HVAC equipment into Annex III (reducing their Section 232 rate from 25% to 15% through 2027), establishing origin-based preferential rates for certain mobile industrial equipment, adding select steel and aluminum derivative products to Section 232 scope, and easing the U.S.-content threshold for the preferential 10% re-import rate.

Additional updates to the Section 232 tariff regime include:

Retention of the 200% tariff on Russian-origin aluminum products, as well as on goods containing Russian-sourced aluminum
Enhanced smelt and cast origin reporting requirements, now extended beyond steel and aluminum to include covered copper products
Continued restrictions on trade program access for products subject to Section 232 tariffs:
- Covered goods admitted into foreign-trade zones must use privileged foreign status.
- Duty drawback remains largely restricted, with limited exceptions tied to specific trade agreement partners (e.g., the UK, EU, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Canada and other countries entering reciprocal trade agreements).
Direction to the Department of Commerce, USTR and Customs and Border Protection to closely monitor import trends, aggressively enforce compliance and recommend additional Section 232 measures when warranted

Conclusion

The invalidation of IEEPA as a mechanism for imposing tariffs has not eliminated tariffs as a central pillar of the president’s trade agenda. Instead, the administration appears to be relying on long-standing statutory authorities to implement trade measures similar to those used during the first Trump administration. While these tools may lack the immediacy of IEEPA and require public participation, tariffs imposed under Sections 301 and 232 may ultimately prove more durable and capable of outlasting the president’s second term.

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