Trump's new Section 232 tariffs now apply to full customs value of imports, effective April 6
A proclamation signed April 2 overhauls the tiered duty structure for steel, aluminum, and copper. The 50% base rate now applies to the full value of derivative products -- eliminating the metal-content carve-out that importers had used to reduce their tariff exposure.
President Trump signed a proclamation on April 2 restructuring Section 232 tariffs on steel, aluminum, and copper. The new rules took effect April 6 at 12:01 a.m. EDT and were published in the Federal Register on April 9 as FR Doc 2026-06960.
The headline change: tariffs now apply to the full customs value of imported products, not just the metal content. Under the previous system, importers could calculate the duty on only the portion of a product's value attributable to steel, aluminum, or copper -- excluding the non-metal components. That carve-out is gone.
The new rate structure
The proclamation establishes a five-tier system:
| Rate | Applies to |
|---|---|
| 50% | Articles made entirely or almost entirely of steel, aluminum, or copper (e.g., steel coils, aluminum sheet, copper rod) |
| 25% | Derivative articles substantially composed of these metals; all UK-origin products |
| 15% | Metal-intensive industrial and electrical grid equipment (temporary rate through 2027) |
| 10% | Products made exclusively with American-smelted or melted-and-poured metals |
| 0% | Products containing less than 15% of the applicable metal by weight (de minimis exemption) |
The de minimis threshold carves out most products classified outside HTS Chapters 72, 73, 74, and 76. Products classified within those chapters -- the primary metals chapters -- remain subject to duty regardless of composition.
No more stacking
Some derivative products fall within the scope of more than one Section 232 action -- a steel-framed product with copper wiring, for example. The proclamation instructs that such products pay only one of the three tariffs, not a stacked combination. The three Section 232 regimes on steel, aluminum, and copper will not stack with each other.
How this compares to the prior regime
Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum were introduced in 2018 at 25% under Proclamations 9704 and 9705. In the years since, the Biden administration granted what the White House fact sheet calls "hundreds of thousands" of product-specific exceptions and country exemptions. Those were eliminated in February 2025.
The rate progression since then:
- February 2025: Product-specific and country exemptions eliminated
- June 2025: Steel and aluminum rates raised from 25% to 50% (UK held at 25%)
- July 2025: Copper added to the Section 232 program at 50% under Proclamation 10962
- April 6, 2026: Full customs value methodology replaces metal-content calculation; tiered rate structure formalized
What the administration says the data shows
The White House fact sheet cites the US becoming the third-largest steel producer globally in 2025 and points to 4 million tons of new crude steelmaking capacity expected to come online within two years, with projects in West Virginia, Arkansas, and South Carolina. A new aluminum smelter in Oklahoma -- a joint venture between Century Aluminum and Emirates Global Aluminum -- is cited alongside copper expansions by Highland Copper, Ivanhoe Electric, Rio Tinto, and Wieland.
The proclamation continues to rest on the Section 232 national security findings first issued in 2018 for aluminum and steel and in 2025 for copper, citing "the national security threat posed by such imports."
Who decides what's a derivative
The proclamation gives the Secretary of Commerce and the US Trade Representative joint authority to add new derivative articles to the tariff regime on a rolling basis -- whenever they determine imports of those articles "threaten to undermine the objectives of the Section 232 program." That allows expansion of coverage without new presidential action.