The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a notice on 14 October 2026 at 91 FR 65162: “Guidance to U.S. Customs and Border Protection Regarding the Assessment of ‘U.S. Content’ for Purposes of Implementing Tariffs Pursuant to Clause (2)(D) of Proclamation 11032 of June 1, 2026” (FR Doc. 2026-20938; Docket No. 260918-0056). It applies to goods entered on or after 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on 14 October 2026 and is signed by Jessica Curyto, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Technology Security.

The tariff it plugs into

Proclamation 11032 (91 FR 34085, signed 1 June 2026) set temporary section 232 duty rates, from 8 June 2026 to 31 December 2027, for the aluminum and steel articles listed in its Annex I-C. The proclamation’s preamble ties that temporary change to mobile industrial equipment and machinery; the annex itself lists goods by tariff code and is published as images, which we have not transcribed. The default rate is 25%. Clause (2)(d) gives Canada and Mexico a different deal: for products that qualify for preferential treatment under the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement, “a duty of 25 percent shall apply only to the non-U.S. content of the product,” and the total effective duty “shall not be less than 15 percent ad valorem.” The proclamation told Commerce to issue guidance on what “U.S. content” means and told CBP to penalize importers who misstate it.

For a qualifying Canadian or Mexican product, every dollar of American content is a dollar the 25% duty does not touch, down to a 15% floor.
Citizen impact: Canadian and Mexican makers of the covered goods, and the U.S. buyers who pay the duty, can lower it by documenting American inputs. Using the proclamation’s own formula, a product whose U.S. content is 40% of its value pays 25% on the other 60%, or 15%, which is the floor; more U.S. content than that brings no further cut. Products with less U.S. content pay more, up to 25% with none. Who gains: firms that already buy U.S. parts or U.S.-melted steel. Who pays: importers of goods built mostly from non-U.S. inputs, and the paperwork burden falls on both.

What the guidance says

For clause (2)(d), “U.S. content” means:

  1. the value of the product attributable to parts “wholly obtained, entirely produced, or substantially transformed in the United States,” and
  2. to the extent not already counted, the value attributable to steel “melted and poured” in the United States, and aluminum or copper “smelted and cast” in the United States.

Questions about specific products go to CBP. The notice is two paragraphs long. It sets no documentation standard, gives no worked examples, and says nothing about goods entered between 8 June and 14 October.

Why the second limb matters

The proclamation itself defined non-U.S. content as total value minus the value “attributable to parts produced in the United States.” The BIS guidance spells out what counts as a U.S. part (wholly obtained, entirely produced or substantially transformed in the U.S.) and adds a separate credit for U.S.-origin metal. As we read it, a Canadian manufacturer that builds a component in Canada from steel melted and poured in the U.S. could count the steel’s value even if the component itself is not a U.S. part. CBP has not published implementing instructions that we found.

What this piece refuses

Do not write that the U.S. cut tariffs on Canada: the guidance defines a term in an existing rate structure and changes no rate. Do not write that it covers all Canadian steel or aluminum: clause (2)(d) applies only to Annex I-C articles that qualify under USMCA. We do not estimate dollar effects; BIS gives none.

Update, 14 October 2026: The guidance was published as scheduled, at 91 FR 65162. It applies to entries from 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on 14 October 2026.

Bottom line

Verified as of 14 October 2026 from the published notice at 91 FR 65162 and the text of Proclamation 11032: from today, CBP will treat both U.S.-made parts and U.S.-melted or U.S.-smelted metal as “U.S. content” when applying the 25%-on-non-U.S.-content duty, with a 15% floor, to USMCA-qualifying Canadian and Mexican goods on Annex I-C. Watch for CBP cargo guidance and any change to Proclamation 11032’s rates, which revert on 1 January 2028.