US and Japan replace Section 232 with import tariff quotas

The US and Japan reached an agreement on tariffs on steel imports on January 7, effective April 1, replacing Section 232 tariffs with a quota system.

While the Section 232 tariffs include steel and aluminium, the deal only covers steel. The agreement allows duty-free imports of Japanese steel with a quota of about 1.25 million tons. Steel products must be smelted and cast in Japan to qualify for the quota agreement.

Steel products, which have been excluded from Section 232 tariffs for the past two years, will not be added to the quota this time. In addition, Japan has also pledged to take concrete steps to address the problem of global steel overcapacity.
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