Steel Import License Changes Include Identifying Country Where Steel is “Melted and Poured”

The Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis System (SIMA) administered by the Department of Commerce will be modified effective October 13, 2020. The major change is the requirement that the country where the steel was “melted and poured” be identified in the license application. Other changes include adding coverage for eight additional HTSUS numbers in order to align the license system with the coverage of Section 232 for basic steel mill products; increasing the low-value license to $5,000 and allowing multiple uses; clarifying the reporting and aggregating of certain information in the SIMA monitor; and extending the SIMA program indefinitely. The Final Rule setting forth these changes was published in the Federal Register on September 11, 2020. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/09/11/2020-19753/steel-import-monitoring-and-analysis-system

SIMA handles both the issuance of import licenses for basic steel mill products, required for entry of the products into the Unites States, and the monitoring system that publishes certain aggregate data on projected imports secured from those licenses. In addition to the changes listed above, modifications not requiring formal regulatory change will include a new modernized website (which will require users to re-register); establishing several new product reporting groups, including separating slab from other semi-finished steel, new line pipe groups for different diameter pipe, and a new “other rails and railroad accessories” group (this will increase the number of reporting groups from the current 53 to 58); and reporting of the data based on the “melted and poured” requirement. Data will continue to be aggregated sufficiently to protect proprietary information. The “melted and poured” data will be retained for a longer time period as it is not also reported in Census data.