As of April 6, 2026, the United States has fundamentally restructured its tariffs on imported steel, aluminum, and copper products — and the changes are far more aggressive than most importers anticipated. The new Section 232 framework applies duties to the full customs value of imported goods, not just their metal content, and imposes rates as high as 50 percent on primary metals articles.
The proclamation, issued April 2 by President Trump, represents the administration's most significant trade action since the Supreme Court struck down IEEPA-based tariffs in February. With the broad tariff authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act now off the table, the White House is leaning heavily on Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act — and pushing the boundaries of what that 64-year-old statute was designed to do.
What Changed on April 6
The previous Section 232 metals tariffs, originally imposed during Trump's first term in 2018, applied a 25 percent duty on steel and a 10 percent duty on aluminum, calculated on the metal content of imported goods. The new framework changes the calculation basis and raises the rates significantly.
Under the revised structure, primary steel, aluminum, and copper articles listed in Annex I-A of the proclamation now face a 50 percent tariff applied to the full customs value of the imported product. That means a finished steel component previously assessed at 25 percent on its steel content alone is now taxed at 50 percent on the entire value of the good — including labor, fabrication, and non-metal inputs.
Derivative articles — products substantially made of steel, aluminum, or copper but not classified as primary metals — will pay a flat 25 percent on their full value. Metal-intensive industrial equipment and electrical grid equipment receive a transitional rate of 15 percent through December 31, 2027, a concession to ongoing domestic infrastructure investment.
The U.S.-Origin Metal Provision
One notable feature of the new framework is a provision for products manufactured abroad using American-origin metals. If an importer can demonstrate that a product was fabricated entirely from U.S.-origin steel, aluminum, or copper that was exported for processing and then re-imported, the tariff rate drops to 10 percent. The provision is designed to support American metal producers while acknowledging that some fabrication capacity does not yet exist domestically.
Additionally, the proclamation creates a de minimis threshold: products containing 15 percent or less steel, aluminum, or copper by weight are exempt from Section 232 duties entirely. This carve-out is intended to prevent the tariffs from cascading into products where metals are a minor input — consumer electronics, medical devices, and similar goods.
Industry Impact
The immediate impact falls on manufacturers, construction companies, and any industry that relies on imported metal inputs. The shift to full-value assessment means the effective tariff burden has increased substantially, even for products that contain significant non-metal components.
Trade associations representing the automotive, appliance, and construction industries have warned that the new rates will increase costs at a time when the sector is already adjusting to supply chain disruptions and the loss of IEEPA-era trade patterns. The National Marine Manufacturers Association noted that marine vessels — which contain substantial aluminum and steel — could see input cost increases of 20 to 30 percent under the new calculation method.
Domestic steel and aluminum producers, by contrast, have largely welcomed the action. The American Iron and Steel Institute issued a statement supporting the full-value assessment as a necessary step to prevent foreign manufacturers from evading tariffs through minimal processing of raw metals into finished goods abroad.
The Legal Question
Section 232 authorizes the president to impose tariffs when the Department of Commerce determines that imports threaten national security. The statute was invoked in 2018 for steel and aluminum and has survived legal challenges. But the scope of the April 2 proclamation — covering not just metals but derivative products, industrial equipment, and now pharmaceuticals under a separate order — is testing the outer limits of what national security means in a trade context.
Legal analysts at several major law firms have noted that the expansion of Section 232 to cover the full customs value of goods, rather than just metal content, represents a novel interpretation of the statute. Whether this interpretation survives judicial scrutiny may depend on how broadly courts are willing to define the national security rationale — particularly after the Supreme Court just reined in executive tariff authority under IEEPA.
For now, the tariffs are in effect, the duties are being collected, and American importers are once again adjusting to a trade landscape that shifts faster than their supply chains can follow.