Effective April 1, 2023, the Biden Administration has raised the import tariff on carbon black imported from the Russian Federation into the United States to 35%. The move was part of a wider package of trade sanctions announced by the White House on the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The actions were undertaken in cooperation with the UK and the European Union, and were specifically targeted at the metals and mining sectors.
In a press release, the White House said:
Increasing tariffs on Russian products: Today, the President will sign proclamations to raise tariffs on certain Russian products imported to the United States, building on previous efforts to strip Russia of its international trade privileges. These measures are designed to target key Russian commodities generating revenue for the Kremlin while reducing U.S. reliance on Russia. These measures are carefully calibrated to impose costs on Russia while minimizing costs to U.S. consumers. Today’s action will result in increased tariffs on more than 100 Russian metals, minerals, and chemical products worth approximately $2.8 billion to Russia. It will also significantly increase costs for aluminum that was smelted or cast in Russia to enter the U.S. market in order to counter harm to the domestic aluminum industry, which is being squeezed by energy costs as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Under the new regimen, metals including pig iron, ferroalloys, steel, copper, and aluminum will see their import tariff rise from 35% to 70%, while some aluminum products are subject to a 200% tariff. In addition, a separate group of industrial materials including precious metals, diamonds, and chemical products are subject to a 35% import tariff as of April 1. This group includes carbon black (HS 2803.00.00). These products were previously subject to tariffs of 25% to 30% since the termination of Russia’s most favored nation status, which occurred March 24, 2022.
The following HS codes are subject to the 35% import tariff as of April 1, 2023:
2601.12.00 – Iron ore and concentrates
2615.10.00 – Zirconium ores and concentrates
2803.00.00 – Carbon (carbon blacks and other forms of carbon NES)
2804.90.00 – Selenium
2805.12.00 – Calcium
2816.10.00 – Hydroxide and peroxide of magnesium
2834.29.10 – Calcium nitrate
2846.90.20 – Rare-earth oxides and rare-earth chlorides
2846.90.40 – Yttrium bearing materials and compounds
2846.90.80 – Other (mixtures of rare-earth carbonates other than cerium carbonate)
7102.21.30 – Diamonds (sawn, cleaved or bruted)
7102.21.40 – Diamonds (other)
7102.29.00 – Diamonds (Miners’ diamonds)
7110.11.00 – Platinum (unwrought or powdered)
7110.19.00 – Platinum (other)
7110.29.00 – Palladium
7110.31.00 – Rhodium (unwrought or powdered)
7110.39.00 – Rhodium (other)
7110.41.00 – Iridium (unwrought or powdered)
7110.49.00 – Iridium (other)
7502.10.00 – Nickel (not alloyed)
7502.20.00 – Nickel (alloys)
7504.00.00 – Nickel (powder and flakes)
8708.10.30 – Motor vehicle bumpers
Here is the excerpt from the Federal Register.
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As part of the same series of actions, the European Union announced a complete ban on imports of carbon black from Russia beginning in June 2024.
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