The US Department of Commerce has postponed the execution of its Aluminum Import Monitoring (AIM) regulation from Mar 29 to Jun 28.
This is the second time that Commerce has delayed the implementation of this rule which was first published in December 2020. The department initially slated AIM’s implementation for Jan 27 but postponed it to Mar 29 citing the need for additional time for public comments and to give the incoming Biden administration a chance to comment on the new rule and propose changes.
On Apr 1, Commerce published a notice delaying the AIM rule to begin on Jun 28 so that it could finalize the licensing system under AIM. It also noted that the delay would provide the US Customs Border Protection (CBP) as well as the companies affected by this rule sufficient notice of the final implementation date so that they could prepare accordingly.
The AIM system is meant to strengthen the US’ trade policies around aluminum imports. The rule requires all aluminum importers, traders, and brokers to apply for licenses to ship certain aluminum products into the US. However, aluminum scrap imports are exempt from this rule.