CMI Tariff Update – Section 232 Proclamation

CMI Tariff Update - Section 232 Proclamation

Dear Valued Customer,

On April 3, 2026, President Trump signed a new proclamation to remove the confusion surrounding Steel Imports covered under Section 232. No longer will the importers that have been miscalculating tariffs, that we have talked about, be able to use their interpretation to break out steel only, which we have said after legal review is fundamentally wrong. That interpretation is incorrect and is not consistent with the intent to protect the steel industry in the United States. Many importers have been breaking out the steel cost only and not paying the tariff on the finished products. This is not correct and the new Proclamation takes that confusion away. The change is immediate.

As of 12:01 am on April 6th, 2026, with all customs entries, there is no method other than the accurate method of reporting the full value for the steel product. We don't know if other importers will be hit retroactively for past entries but, if they do under-report going forward, penalties could be serious. This will cost them around $1.25 a box of coil roofing for orders they sold knowing it wasn't right. If they are penalized it may be retroactively to cover all entries back to June of 2025. We can assure you every coil roofing nail order that CMI imported we have reported the full value of the product which is the proper and accurate method.

Hopefully this Section 232 action will level the playing field, and reduce the cheating that has been going on, though I suspect there are other methods some may use. It would be unfair for any of those suppliers to come to the market and expect you to pay the additional tariffs due, since they took those orders knowing their method of calculation was incorrect.

Here is the link to the full proclamation on WhiteHouse.gov

In summary, the 50% ad valorem duty shall continue on imports of merchandise classified under HTS 7317 (i.e., nails) (with an exception for merchandise sourced in the UK). As of 12:01am on April 6, 2026, the duty shall apply to "the full value of the article imported." This means that there will be no more breakout between steel and non-steel content. Rather, the full value of the item being imported shall be subject to the duty.

We think the administration saw what companies were doing and has decided to put an end to it. We don't think this is evidence in particular that they agreed or disagreed with a particular interpretation under the prior law.

This new action very clearly puts an end to the speculation of how to calculate steel from non-steel content. The amount of steel content is no longer relevant. Regardless of how much steel content is used in collated nails or plastic nails, the 50% Section 232 duty will apply to the entire product.

One change that we will have to make is on plastic cap nails. This new Proclamation has taken away the ability to break out the non-steel plastic portion which was 31% of the value. Just as we have provided tariff credits all along, this change will result in an additional tariff of approximately $0.20 on a box and $0.40 on a bucket of plastic cap nails. This change will be effective on any material arriving after 12:01am on April 6th.

Please let us know if you have any questions and feel free to reach out to me directly or your CMI Representative.

Sincerely,

Peter J. Fischer
President

Continental Materials, Inc. (CMI) is a leading national supplier of roofing system component materials. As the largest importer of roofing fasteners into the US, our roofing fasteners go on 2.2 million homes every year and our construction fasteners frame another quarter million homes. CMI is the exclusive supplier of top-of-the-line SecureGrip synthetic underlayments in both mechanically attached and self-adhered formats. And of course we're known for our "No Smell" BUR asphalt with its WeatherSeal protective packaging and eco-friendly woodfiber roof insulation. CMI's focus is on bringing Quality, Service, and Value to our customers and we've been doing just that since 1958.

For more information on CMI products, call (215) 884-4930, visit our website or contact your local CMI Sales Representative.