By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff
U.S. and Japanese officials announced a tariff-rate quota deal that will end the 25% tariff on steel imports from Japan levied since 2018. The 25% tariff will be suspended on up to 1.25 million metric tons per year of steel imports from Japan and will take effect April 1. (The U.S. imported 1.1 million metric tons of steel from Japan in 2019 but 1.7 million tons in 2017 before the tariffs were imposed.) The agreement does not cover aluminum imports, which are subject to 10% tariffs.
The metal tariffs were initially imposed in 2018 under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 on national security grounds. The U.S.-Japan agreement comes four months after a similar deal was reached between the U.S. and European Union to end the dispute over both steel and aluminum tariffs. Negotiations are underway to end steel and aluminum tariff disputes with the United States and United Kingdom.
For more information, contact Caroline Fletcher at carolinef@sema.org.