On October 14, 2026, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), United States Department of Commerce, published Federal Register notice 2026-20938 (91 FR 65162), guidance to U.S. Customs and Border Protection on assessing "U.S. content" for products of Canada and Mexico that qualify for United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) preferential tariff treatment, for purposes of implementing tariffs pursuant to clause (2)(d) of Presidential Proclamation 11032 of June 1, 2026 (91 FR 34085). The guidance applies to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on October 14, 2026.
US importers of USMCA-qualifying steel, aluminum and copper products from Canada and Mexico, US customs brokers filing those entries, Canadian and Mexican steel, aluminum and copper producers whose goods claim a U.S.-content reduction, and US parts makers whose content is counted in that reduction must, for goods entered for consumption or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption on or after October 14, 2026, treat U.S. content under clause (2)(d) of Proclamation 11032 as the two-part value in notice 2026-20938, or a value that is not that definition is not U.S. content for this guidance and questions on a specific product go to CBP.
What does notice 2026-20938 tell CBP that U.S. content means?
Notice 2026-20938 (Docket No. 260918-0056, XRIN 0694-XC163) is guidance to CBP, signed by Jessica Curyto, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Technology Security, after the Secretary of Commerce delegated the guidance Proclamation 11032 directed the Secretary to issue. The published notice is document 2026-20938 (91 FR 65162), filed October 9, 2026, and published October 14, 2026.
Proclamation 11032, "Further Adjusting the Tariff Regimes for Imports of Aluminum, Steel, and Copper into the United States," modifies the tariff regimes for metal products imposed in Proclamation 9704, as amended, Proclamation 9705, as amended, and Proclamation 10962, as amended. For purposes of implementing clause (2)(d) of that proclamation, the Department of Commerce advises CBP that "U.S. content" means the two parts below.
| Part | What counts as U.S. content | What does not get counted twice |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The value of the product attributable to parts wholly obtained, entirely produced, or substantially transformed in the United States | The first part of the definition |
| 2 | The value of the product attributable to steel melted and poured in the United States, aluminum smelted and cast in the United States, and copper smelted and cast in the United States | Only to the extent not otherwise accounted for in part 1 |
Whose entries and supplier data does the definition affect?
The notice is addressed to CBP. It covers products of Canada and Mexico that qualify for USMCA preferential tariff treatment, entered for consumption or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption on or after October 14, 2026. That scope reaches entries filed by US importers of those steel, aluminum and copper products and by the US customs brokers who file them, supplier data from Canadian and Mexican producers, and US parts makers whose parts or US-melted, smelted or cast metal sit inside the figure. Products outside that USMCA Canada-or-Mexico scope sit outside the notice. The notice does not order those filers or suppliers to assemble a file.
What can filers match to the two-part definition?
The notice states the two values and nothing further about a filing format. A figure that is to be "U.S. content" for this guidance is the part 1 value plus the part 2 value only to the extent part 2 is not already inside part 1. A part wholly obtained, entirely produced, or substantially transformed in the United States is part 1. Steel melted and poured in the United States, or aluminum or copper smelted and cast in the United States, is part 2 only when that value is not already accounted for in part 1.
- Limit the products in view to products of Canada or Mexico that qualify for USMCA preferential tariff treatment.
- Take part 1 as the value attributable to parts wholly obtained, entirely produced, or substantially transformed in the United States.
- Add part 2 only for steel melted and poured in the United States, aluminum smelted and cast in the United States, or copper smelted and cast in the United States, and only to the extent that value is not already in part 1.
- Send a question on how the notice applies to a specific product to CBP, which is the channel the notice names.
Continuous, per-jurisdiction monitoring surfaces this class of Federal Register guidance to CBP when it is published.
What does CBP assess if the claimed value is not that definition?
A value that is not the two-part definition is not "U.S. content" for this guidance. The notice does not state a separate assessment formula, a duty base, or a penalty rule. Questions on how the notice applies to a specific product go to CBP.
On the next consumption entry or warehouse withdrawal of a USMCA-qualifying product of Canada or Mexico, confirm the product is inside the notice, line the claimed figure up with the two parts, and send any product-specific question to CBP.
