White House corrects tariff schedule

The Commerce Department on April 29 published technical corrections to the U.S. tariff schedule for metal duties ordered under President Donald Trump’s Proclamation 11021. (federalregister.gov) The notice says it makes two technical corrections to Annex IV of the April 2 proclamation and adds a clarification on how filers should treat covered imports. The changes are effective for certain entries made on or after 12:01 a.m. Eastern on April 6, 2026. (federalregister.gov) Proclamation 11021 expanded the administration’s Section 232 metals regime across aluminum, steel and copper, and directed Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative to modify the Harmonized Tariff Schedule as needed. The White House said the action built on the earlier aluminum, steel and copper proclamations from 2018 and 2025. (whitehouse.gov) (federalregister.gov) The practical issue is customs classification. The Harmonized Tariff Schedule is the codebook importers use to decide which goods owe which duties, so a correction can change landed costs even when the headline tariff rate stays the same. (federalregister.gov) The White House said on April 2 that steel, aluminum and copper imports were already subject to additional ad valorem duties under the Section 232 national-security program. Its fact sheet said the copper tariff rate matched the 50% rate applied to steel and aluminum. (whitehouse.gov 1) (whitehouse.gov 2) The timing overlaps with a House Natural Resources subcommittee hearing held April 29 titled “Powering the 21st Century with American Copper.” Committee materials said copper is essential for wiring, motors, communications gear, vehicles and military technologies. (docs.house.gov 1) (docs.house.gov 2) Republican staff materials for that hearing said global copper demand is rising with electricity use, artificial intelligence, electric vehicles and renewable-energy buildouts. The same memo said China dominates copper processing and called for faster permitting and more domestic supply. (docs.house.gov) The witness list underscored where the pressure shows up in industry. Panelists included S&P Global vice chairman Daniel Yergin, Copper Development Association chief executive Adam Estelle, and National Electrical Manufacturers Association chief executive Debra Phillips. (docs.house.gov) For importers of copper-heavy electrical equipment, the immediate question is not whether tariffs exist but whether the corrected tariff codes now capture more products or change filing treatment. Commerce’s notice says the proclamation applies only to imported goods that are aluminum, steel or copper articles or their derivatives. (federalregister.gov) That leaves customs brokers, manufacturers and project buyers checking entries back to April 6 and recalculating duty exposure under the corrected schedule. The policy did not change today; the codebook used to enforce it did. (federalregister.gov)