Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Thursday laid out the process for domestic companies to receive exclusions from the administration’s steel and aluminum tariffs. The exclusions will be available only for companies that use steel and aluminum for business purposes inside the U.S., he said.
“We have have already gotten in 100-200 requests inquiries [at the department] and we are literally processing them as we sit here this morning,” Ross told the House Ways and Means Committee.
To be eligible, companies must either be in construction, manufacturing or supplying products to users. Foreign-owned companies would be eligible for exemptions, provided that the steel and aluminum was used inside the U.S. at a facility with U.S. employees. The requests will be reviewed by the government with determinations to be made within “no more than 90 days,” Ross said.
During that 90-day period, any tariffs paid would be put into escrow and returned to the company if an exclusion is granted, Ross added, saying that was “only fair.”
The administration will reserve the right to withhold an exclusion if the request comes from a company with idled production but will reverse the determination if the production is brought online.
The determinations will be made public on a rolling basis and there will be an appeal process.
