Trade Cases
Priefert Wins Tariff Exclusion After Long, Frustrating Wait
Written by John Packard
December 6, 2018
Calling it “a good day for the little guys” after a frustrating eight-month wait, Priefert Manufacturing Co. reports the Commerce Department has finally granted the company a one-year exclusion on a 10-gauge, 80-inch hot rolled product that is not made in the United States. Based in Mount Pleasant, Texas, Priefert is a service center and manufacturer of ranching equipment and it needs that particular steel to fabricate truck beds. The Commerce ruling clears the way for Priefert to source the steel outside the U.S. without having to pay the 25 percent Section 232 tariff.
As Steel Market Update reported back on Oct. 2 (see The Tariff Exclusion Process: A Case Study in Frustration), the product exclusion filing was complicated and time consuming. Chris Shipp, Priefert General Manager, said he was in weekly contact with Commerce to try to expedite the process. “It took too long to investigate and it was too long to wait for a product that is not made in the United States. It’s frustrating when you see someone who filed a request after you did and they get an answer while you wait.”
Trade attorney Lewis Leibowitz tells SMU that the above letter was “just the first step in a long process” as the importer of record will have to work through the Customs Department to recover the nearly $500,000 in tariffs paid on this material since March 2018. Duferco, as the trader of record, is now working with U.S. customs on getting the tariffs returned.
As noted in the October article, two domestic steel mills originally filed objections to the Priefert exclusion request. One mill withdrew its objection. Priefert is now working with that supplier to see if they can make the product at one of their U.S.-based steel mills. “They would like to try to make the item. We hope to do a trial during the first quarter of 2019,” Shipp said.
Shipp credited Republican Congresswoman Jackie Walorski of Indiana and her staff for assisting Priefert through the process. It was her chief of staff who called to notify them that their exclusion had been granted.
John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Trade Cases
Price on Trade: Auto tariffs, auto parts, and Hyundai – a world of rapid changes
Trump's new auto tariffs will apply to passenger vehicles (including sedans, sport utility vehicles, crossover utility vehicles, minivans, and cargo vans), light trucks, and certain automobile parts (including engines and engine parts, transmissions and powertrain parts, and electrical components).
CRU: Canacero urges Mexico-US partnership to fend off Asian steel imports
Victor Cairo, head of Mexico’s steel sector body Canacero and CEO of ArcelorMittal Mexico, says he is confident negotiations between the Mexican and US governments planned for April 2 will lead to the creation of a regional block to substitute imports, especially from Asia.
US chassis makers seek duties on imports from Mexico, Thailand, and Vietnam
Upon the request of US chassis manufacturers, the Commerce Department this week initiated investigations into the alleged dumping and subsidization of chassis imported from Mexico, Thailand, and Vietnam.
European Commission eyes stricter limit on tariff-free steel imports
The European Commmission is reducing the amount of tariff-free foreign steel that can enter the EU.
Trump says exceptions could exist on reciprocal tariffs
President Trump said on Monday there may be exceptions for some countries on reciprocal tariffs.