President Trump has revised his Section 232 metal tariffs with a mix of relief and constraint—cutting rates on steel and aluminium derivatives while tightening restrictions on new product categories and lowering the threshold for what counts as American-made, signalling a shift toward incentivising domestic sourcing over blanket protectionism.

US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation revising his Section 232 national security tariffs on steel, aluminium, and copper imports on 1 June 2026.

The changes lower rates on certain derivative products while introducing new restrictions on others. These revisions, made under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, are designed to address national security threats while supporting domestic industries that rely on these metal products.

Steel and aluminium derivatives—including agricultural equipment and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems—will see tariffs reduced from 25% to 15%. Mobile industrial equipment such as bulldozers and forklifts now face a 15% tariff when imported from countries with trade agreements, provided they qualify under the new criteria.

Other key adjustments and provisions of the proclamation include:

Expanded product coverage and anti-circumvention

To ensure the effectiveness of the tariff regimes and prevent circumvention, the proclamation added new items to the list of derivative products:

  • New Inclusions: Aluminium lithographic plates and steel racks are now subject to the applicable derivative tariffs.

Revised “American-Made” threshold

A significant policy change was made to the criteria for identifying domestic products:

  • Lowered threshold: The threshold for an imported product to qualify as being made “entirely” from American aluminium, steel, or copper was reduced from 95% to 85% of the product’s metal weight.
  • Incentivising domestic sourcing: This modification is intended to incentivise the increased use of American metals in downstream derivative products.

Specific duty rates and effective dates

The new measures take effect on 8 June 2026. Between this date and 31 December 2027, the following duty structures apply to aluminium and steel articles listed in the proclamation:

  • Standard rate: A 25% ad valorem duty generally applies.
  • Preferential rates for allies: For products from several jurisdictions—including the European Union, Japan, the United Kingdom, and South Korea—the total duty is adjusted so the effective rate is 15% (or zero if the standard Column 1 duty is already 15% or higher).
  • US content discount: A reduced 10% duty applies to derivative articles where the metal content is composed entirely (meeting the new 85% threshold) of metal smelted, cast, or poured in the United States.
  • USMCA treatment: For products from Canada and Mexico, the 25% duty applies only to the non-US content of the product, with a minimum effective duty of 15%

The Secretary of Commerce and the United States Trade Representative (USTR) are directed to continue monitoring metal imports and inform the President if further actions are required or if existing actions are no longer necessary for national security.