Duties on steel and aluminum have already had a significant impact on the construction industry. Participants in the construction industry have a very short window in which to weigh in on changes that could increase the impact of these duties.
On May 21, 2025, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) released the first batch of requests for the inclusion of additional materials within the scope of the 25% duty imposed on steel and aluminum and certain derivative steel and aluminum articles. This will have a direct impact on elements of the construction industry, as a number of materials commonly used in construction have been proposed for inclusion with the scope of the duties.
BIS has provided a very short window in which members of the public can submit comments on the requests to apply Section 232 duties to these articles. The deadline for submission of comments is Wednesday, June 4, 2025. Clients in the construction industry should immediately review the requests for inclusions and evaluate whether to file comments.
The inclusion requests can be found on the regulations.gov website.
*Note that the Section 232 inclusions process and the Section 232 duties on steel and aluminum and certain derivative steel and aluminum articles will be unaffected by the U.S. Court of International Trade’s decision of May 28, 2025, that enjoined recent tariff actions taken by the Trump administration under a separate statute, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
Background
Since the first Trump Administration, the United States has maintained duties on imported steel and aluminum, and certain imported steel-derivative and aluminum-derivative products, under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. Section 232 permits the Secretary of Commerce to adjust imports, including through the use of tariffs, in situations where excessive foreign imports are found to be a threat to U.S. national security.
On February 10, 2025, President Trump issued Proclamations 10895 (for aluminum) and 10896 (for steel). These Proclamations:
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Raised the Section 232 duty rate on aluminum and certain aluminum-derivative articles to 25%, matching the rate applicable to steel and steel derivative articles;
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Eliminated the negotiated country-specific exceptions, effective March 12, 2025;
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Provided for elimination of the process through which businesses could seek exclusions from the duties for certain products, and for the phase-out of previously-granted exclusions; and
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Provided for an expansion of the scope of covered steel-derivative and aluminum-derivative products.
In addition, the February 10, 2025, Proclamations provided for the creation of a process through which domestic producers and industry associations can request that the tariffs be applied to additional steel-derivative and aluminum-derivative products. This process may have significant long-term implications for the construction industry, as it provides a pathway for domestic steel and aluminum industry members to seek tariffs on a range of articles that may be used in construction.
On April 30, 2025, the Department of Commerce issued an interim final rule (IFR) establishing the new tariff inclusion process for derivative aluminum and steel articles. Pursuant to the IFR, BIS opened the first two-week window for submission of inclusion requests on May 1. Valid requests received during that window were released for comment on May 21. If BIS grants an inclusion request, this will result in the application of the 25% Section 232 tariff to the products at issue. Application of this tariff to construction materials can have significant cost implications for contractors and vendors.
The Products at Issue
The inclusion requests, released for comment on May 21 and now under consideration by BIS, seek to apply Section 232 duties to imports of various products used in the construction industry.
These include:
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structural steel;
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raw billet steel;
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drill pipe, strings, and related products for the oil and gas extraction industry;
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aluminum cable and wire; and
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air compressors for construction.
We encourage construction industry participants to review the full set of posted inclusion requests in order to ascertain whether there has been a request to apply Section 232 duties to materials that they use.
Next Steps
BIS will accept public comments on the inclusion requests through June 4, 2025. BIS has indicated that “[e]ach inclusion request will be assessed for:
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whether the described product…is a derivative steel or aluminum article; and
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whether such derivative article imports have increased in a manner that threatens to impair the national security or otherwise undermine the objectives set forth in the Section 232 investigation reports or related Inclusions Proclamations."
BIS will publicly post a determination memorandum for each inclusion request by July 20.
We encourage you to review the inclusion requests and determine whether they impact your bottom line or work. If they do, a very short window exists to submit comments either in favor of, or in opposition to, a given inclusion request. We are available to advise you on this process.