If you are importing aircraft parts made from aluminum, copper and steel then the new aluminum, copper and steel tariffs that go into effect today could have drawn your attention. It is important to look at them carefully because they will apply to a small number of aircraft parts, but they will not apply to most aircraft parts.
It is important to examine the tariff code for your goods, and compare it to the code listing for the tariff. NOT ALL PARTS ARE SUBJECT TO THESE DUTIES! Most bar stock and other non-finished products are covered. Many wires and fasteners/hardware are covered.
Many finished aircraft parts made from these materials are not covered; but some aircraft parts may be covered (like certain hydraulic fluid pumps under heading 8413, certain heat exchange units under 8419, and certain bearings under heading 8482 or 8483). To be certain, it is important to check the annexes, which will be incorporated into the HTSUS.
Once you have identified your imports as being subject to one of these tariffs, then you still need to identify which of the annexes applies (based on tariff number) as well as the source of the material. The actual calculation mechanism has gotten more complicated and is more fully described in the proclamation and annexes. For more information, or if you need more guidance, then contact the Association.
Even if the tariff code for your import good is listed, you still need to check the metal content (by weight) because an additional exception may apply. Goods specified in the annexes to the Proclamation, except those classifiable in Chapters 72, 73, 74, and 76, that contain less than 15 percent of the aggregate weight of the applicable metal(s) are not subject to the duties imposed by the Proclamation. This is the sum of the applicable metals where there is more than one tariffed metal. For example, since HTSUS is 8302.10.60 is identified in paragraphs (c)(vi) and (vii) of annex IV as both a derivative aluminum article and steel article in annex IV, the aggregate weight of both aluminum and steel (but not copper) should be included in the 15 percent calculation. If you are able to use the “less than 15% weight” exception, then report it as HTSUS 9903.82.03, and include the aggregate weight of the applicable metal(s) in kilograms as a second quantity on the entry summary line.
At issue were the tariffs promulgated pursuant to the following Executive Orders:
Executive Order 14257, Regulating Imports With a Reciprocal Tariff to Rectify Trade Practices That Contribute to Large and Persistent Annual United States Goods Trade Deficits, 90 Fed. Reg. 15041 (Apr. 2, 2025).
Executive Order 14259, Amendment to Reciprocal Tariffs and Updated Duties as Applied to Low-Value Imports From the People’s Republic of China, 90 Fed. Reg. 15509 (Apr. 8, 2025)
Executive Order 14266, Modifying Reciprocal Tariff Rates to Reflect Trading Partner Retaliation and Alignment, 90 Fed. Reg. 15625 (Apr. 9, 2025).
Executive Order 14298, Modifying Reciprocal Tariff Rates To Reflect Discussions With the People’s Republic of China, 90 Fed. Reg. 21831 (May 12, 2025).
The “Trafficking Tariffs” in Executive Orders 14193 (China), 14194 (Mexico), and 14195 (China).
The court held that the Worldwide and Retaliatory Tariff Orders exceeded any authority granted to the President by IEEPA to regulate importation by means of tariffs. The court also held that the Trafficking Tariffs failed because they do not deal with the threats set forth in those orders. The court vacated the challenged Tariff Orders and their operation has been permanently enjoined.
This order is likely to be appealed by the Administration. It is possible that the court of appeals may reinstate the tariffs pending appeal, so be cautious abut your import obligations.
Please note that tariffs based on other provisions of law – like the steel and aluminum tariffs which were based on section 232 investigations – were not affected by this ruling.
We’ve been answering a number of questions from our members about tariff status. This article is meant to summarize what we know about recent tariff activity, but the administration hasn’t maintained a uniform message about tariffs, so what we know could change at any time.
The United States has applied a 10% tariff in addition to any pre-existing tariffs that already applied to aircraft parts from China.
It is important to recognize that there is an existing list of products of China that were already subject to a 25% ‘additional duty’ provision. This is described under subheading 9903.88.01 and the description can be found under U.S. note 20(b) to sub-chapter III of chapter 99 of the US Harmonized Tariff System. Many aircraft parts are subject to a 25% duty under this provision, including those under (for example) headings 8409, 8411, and 8807. This means that the additional 10% duty of tariff 9903.01.20 brings the import duty on those aircraft parts to 35% (assuming they would have been otherwise subject to a zero-duty entry, but-for the ‘additional duty’ provisions, e.g. aircraft parts under headings 8409, 8411, or 8807).
Because of the peculiar way that the China tariffs had been drafted, it is possible that articles subject to a non-zero base duty may have that base duty doubled (see this article for a detailed explanation). This is a non-issue for most aircraft parts because most are subject to a zero percent base duty rate, but some aircraft parts (like certain fasteners) have a non-zero base duty and the peculiarities will need to be resolved for those imports.
Canada and Mexico
The United States is scheduled to impose 25% tariffs against substantially all products of Canada and substantially all products of Mexico. In each case the tariffs are currently schedule to apply to Canadian imports and Mexican imports as of 12:01 am March 4, 2025. The tariffs (which are the description of how the duty rates will be applied) were withdrawn when the Canada and Mexico tariffs were delayed, so the republished tariffs could change.
Typically, the 25% tariff would be applied to the import value of the goods (25% of the value is charged as a duty). When the goods are exported from the United States for the purpose of obtaining repair abroad, and then subsequently returned to the U.S., the dutiable value upon return is typically calculated based on the parts-and-labor-cost of the MRO work that was accomplished abroad (unless it is a no-charge repair, like a warranty repair, in which case it is based on the fair market value of the repair). This is covered under chapter 98 tariff subheadings like 9802.00.40 (for warranty repairs) or 9802.00.50 (for non-warranty repairs). The goods would be subject to a basic duty based on the repair value times the rate that applies to the underlying good. For example, if the repair cost was $20,000 and the underlying aircraft part was subject to heading 8807, then the old rate of duty would be zero percent so the duty would be zero dollars. Under the new tariffs with the 25% duty rates, though, if the repair cost was $20,000 and the tariff on products of the country in which the repair was performed is at a 25% duty rate, then the U.S. importer to whom the repaired part is returned (from Canada) would need to pay an import duty of $5,000 (in addition to the repair cost).
Steel and Aluminum
The Administration has also issued orders to apply and increase duty rates on steel and aluminum (including plates, sheets, strips, bars, rods, tubes and wires). The new duty rates for aluminum from most countries will be 25% (in addition to any other applicable tariffs). Derivative products made from aluminum or steel will also be subject to a 10% duty (in addition to any other applicable tariffs). The executive order that announced these is quite complicated, with different phase-in dates for different countries, and some higher duty rates for certain countries (for example Turkey will face a 50% duty rate on all steel articles imports and Russia will face a 200% duty rate on imported derivative aluminum articles).
If you think that the steel or aluminum tariffs may apply to your imports then please be sure to read the tariffs thoroughly (don’t just rely on this blog article because there are too many details to republish them all here).
Other Targets
In tomorrow’s Federal Register, we expect to see a new request from the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). The new request will ask the American people to identify any unfair trade practices by other countries, with a discussion of the harm to the United States. The draft publication refers to these as non-reciprocal trade arrangements so it appears that the Administration (which has threatened to implement reciprocal tariffs) may be looking at such arrangements as justifications for tariffs on comparable products from these source countries. This investigation is a response to the “America First Trade Policy” Executive Order.
As we wrote last month, the EU has issued new rules that are meant to help ensure compliance with Russia sanctions. These rules include a requirement for certain iron and steel articles to certify the source of the metals when these articles are imported in to the EU (to ensure the metal is not sourced from Russia). The EU has published a FAQ that provides an exception for parts produced before June 23, 2023.
As a practical matter, ASA members in the EU who are importing, and ASA members outside the EU who are exporting to the EU, need to make sure they can document source of the metal for certain articles. These iron and steel articles include, but are not limited to:
screws, bolts, nuts, coach screws, screw hooks, rivets, cotters, cotter pins, washers, incl. spring washers, and similar articles, of iron or steel under CN Heading 7218;
wire of alloy steel other than stainless, in coils (excl. bars and rods) under CN Heading 7229;
containers of iron or steel, for compressed or liquefied gas under CN Heading 7311;
air heaters and hot-air distributors under CN Heading 7322;
lavatory fixtures under CN Heading 7324;
articles of iron or steel regulated under CN Heading 7325 or 7326.
While the CN Headings are quite similar to the Harmonized Tariff Code Headings, it is wise to look directly at the European Union’s CN Headings to make sure you are properly characterizing your goods under EU law. Bear in mind also that this new rule applies to articles processed outside the EU.
If you have an article that is affected by the new rules, then you will need evidence of the country of origin of the iron and steel inputs used for the processing of the product. This must be available at the time of import into the EU.
Does the application of Article 3g (1) (d) of Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 also extend to products that were manufactured or processed in a third country before 30 September 2023? Last update: 2 October 2023
The prohibition applies to imports of iron and steel products incorporating inputs originating from Russia that enter the Union as of 30 September 2023, provided that they were manufactured or produced after 23 June 2023. That is the date when the obligation for the importer to demonstrate the country of origin of the iron and steel inputs used for the processing of the product in a third country was introduced in EU law. Coupled with the almost one-year wind-down period of the prohibition itself, this should have allowed an orderly planning of imports into the Union of the relevant goods before 30 September 2023. If the abovementioned goods are already in the territory of the Union and have been presented to customs before 30 September 2023, Article 12e applies and they can be purchased or transferred after that date (see Q3).
This means that articles that would be subject to the new EU import documentation rule, but were produced before June 23, 2023, are not required to bear the applicable documentation. As a practical matter, this is likely to mean that you will need documentation to show that the article was produced before June 23, 2023. This can include trace documentation showing commercial transactions before the date, an approval for return to service showing maintenance before the date, or an authorized release document that shows that the article was produced/approved before the date. Such documentation should be made available to prove that the article is exempt from the EU’s metals-sourcing-documentation requirement.
The EU has targeted Russian metals as a key element of their Russia-sanctions program. These sanctions have come to the attention of the aircraft parts industry because some EU importers are asking their export partners to certify that the metals in the aircraft parts did not come from Russia. In many cases, though, the request is NOT applicable to aircraft parts.
Executive Summary
The new EU import restriction is tied to certain categories of parts – namely certain parts in CN chapters 72 and 73. These chapters describes iron, steel, and things made from iron and steel. But the CN Code rules require you to use the most specific applicable CN code, and aircraft parts are typically going to be categorized under a more specific chapter (rather than chapters 72 or 73).
Most aircraft parts fall into CN chapters 84 (engines and their parts) or 88 (aircraft and their parts). So they are not affected by the new requirements to certify origin of the steel.
It is possible for a distributor to export chapter 72 (iron and steel) or chapter 73 (articles of iron or steel) materials to the EU (in which case the restrictions apply). If you are exporting affected material to the EU, then the importer will likely rely on you to provide evidence of the country of origin of the iron and/or steel.
To be clear, most aircraft parts are not affected by the requirement for proof that the metal did not come from Russia.
The Longer Analysis
The EU has issued a comprehensive body of sanctions against Russia for its actions in the Crimean Peninsula and for its subsequent invasion of Ukraine.
On June 23, 2023, the EU adapted additional sanctions against Russia. These amended the existing sanctions programs against Russia, which date-back to 2014 (when Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula). While the EU has taken various steps to support Ukraine during the Russia-Ukraine conflict, some of the most important sanctions are those targeting Russia’s iron and steel industries. The newest amendments to the EU sanctions are specifically intended to address circumvention efforts.
The new sanctions apply to the import into the EU of iron and steel products where the iron or steel came from Russia. This includes materials like bar stock as well as certain finished articles. These new sanctions require the importer to confirm that the iron and/or steel did not come from Russia, which is why EU importers are asking for certifications that the materials did not come from Russia.
The newest sanctions are tied to the EU’s combined nomenclature (CN) codes. CN codes are based on the harmonized tariff code system. Why does the EU give it a different name? Because the EU has modified the harmonized tariff code system by adding additional subheadings to further distinguish imported products. But the CN code system still uses the same chapter numbers and heading numbers (and related descriptions) as the harmonized tariff code system. This will become important later in the analysis when we get to compliance strategies.
There is a very lengthy table of iron and steel products subject to the new regulations, but here are some excerpts that are potentially relevant to the aviation community:
CN Code
Official Description
Examples of Things that an Aircraft Parts Distributor Might Import into the EU that May Fall Under this Provision
7229
wire of alloy steel other than stainless, in coils (excl. bars and rods)
steel wires
7311
containers of iron or steel, for compressed or liquefied gas (excl. containers specifically constructed or equipped for one or more types of transport)
steel tanks used for compressed gasses, like oxygen or carbon dioxide
7318
screws, bolts, nuts, coach screws, screw hooks, rivets, cotters, cotter pins, washers, incl. spring washers, and similar articles, of iron or steel (excl. lag screws, stoppers, plugs and the like, threaded)
iron or steel fasteners
7325
articles of iron or steel, cast, n.e.s.
other things made of iron or steel that were produced through casting, and are regulated under harmonized tariff code 73
7326
articles of iron or steel, n.e.s. (excl. cast articles)
other things made of iron or steel that were not cast, and are regulated under CN chapter 73
Excerpted from Annex V to Regulation (EU) No. 2023/1214, which amended Annex XVII to Regulation (EU) No. 833/2014.
The main message you should be getting from this chart is that if you are dealing in iron or steel things that are categorized under tariff chapter 72 or chapter 73 then you need to look carefully to see if they are subject to the new EU regulations that are meant to prevent circumvention. If you are exporting these sorts of articles to the EU, then they are likely covered under the sanctions provisions and if they are then you will need to support your importer with compliance documentation.
Aircraft parts fall under a wide variety of tariff codes (CN codes in the EU). In particular, the requirements likely do not apply to aircraft parts categorized under harmonized tariff codes in chapter 84 (engines and their parts) or chapter 88 (aircraft and their parts).
Note that some additional aircraft parts CN Codes under chapter 73 include air heaters and hot-air distributors made of iron or steel (7322) and certain iron or steel lavatory fixtures (7324). Both of these headings appear in Annex XVII so each would be subject to the compliance obligations of the new rule.
Compliance Strategy
For aircraft parts distributors, the first thing to do is to ascertain whether your articles are subject to these requirements. The new amendment to the EU sanctions regulations includes a revision to Annex XVII.
Note that most aircraft parts are categorized under CN chapter 84 (engines and their parts) or Chapter 88 (aircraft and their parts) [these are not exclusive – many aircraft parts can fall under other chapters so be sure you are accurately categorizing your parts]. The new non-circumvention rule applies to certain headings found in chapters 72 and 73 only. If you know that 84 or 88 is the proper chapter for your articles, then your analysis of this particular regulations may be complete!
When we export parts from the United States, it is normal to identify a schedule B number. While the specific descriptors and subheadings can vary, the chapters and headings should be the same between the United States Schedule B (for export out of the US) and the European Union CN Codes (for import into the EU). When exporting from the United States, look at the first two numbers of your Schedule B number (this is called the “chapter”); if the number is NOT 72 or 73 then your analysis for compliance to this particular requirement is done. If the chapter is 72 or 73, then you need to continue your analysis. Look at the first four numbers of your Schedule B number (this is called the “heading”) and compare it to the numbers in Annex XVII. Make sure you are using the most up-to-date version of the Annex – the links in this article were up-to-date on the date of publication but they can be superseded! If the heading number matches a CN Code in Annex XVII, then the final step is to examine where the product was processed. The rule applies to products processed outside of the EU. If your product is described by a CN Code on Annex XVII, and it was “processed” outside of the EU, then your export to the EU will likely need to be accompanied by evidence of the country of origin of the iron and steel inputs used for the processing of the product.
Compliance For Affected CN Codes
So what do these sanctions provisions really say? The pre-existing sanctions provisions had already prohibited importing iron and/or steel articles that came from Russia or that were produced in Russia. The new provisions are meant to prevent circumvention of the sanctions.
Under the recently-amended EU sanctions provisions, it becomes illegal for persons in the EU to import or purchase iron or steel articles listed in Annex XVII (which is a list of articles regulated under CN chapters 72 or 73 ) that were processed in a third country if they incorporated iron and/or steel products originating in Russia. The Annex lists a wide variety of different forms that iron and steel can take (e.g. semi-finished articles, flat-rolled product, bar or rod stock, tubes, wires, etc.). This can be interpreted to mean that if the iron or steel came from Russia, even if it came from Russia before sanctions, then it is prohibited from import into the EU.
I know I’ve said this before, but an important distinction is that Annex XVII (as recently amended) includes articles whose CN codes begin with 72 and 73. Most aircraft parts are found in Chapters 84 (engines and their parts) or 88 (aircraft and their parts), so their CN codes begin with 84 or 88.
If you’ve got affected material that you want to export to the EU, then the operative requirement comes in the sentence that reads:
For the purposes of the application of this point, at the moment of importation, importers shall provide evidence of the country of origin of the iron and steel inputs used for the processing of the product in a third country.
This means that the importer of this affected material needs to get evidence of compliance (such as a certification that the iron/steel did not come from Russia).
This new requirement applies starting September 30, 2023.
You must be logged in to post a comment.