Priefert Wins Tariff Exclusion After Long, Frustrating Wait

Calling it “a good day for the little guys” after a frustrating eight-month wait, Priefert Manufacturing Co. reports the Commerce Department has finally granted the company a one-year exclusion on a 10-gauge, 80-inch hot rolled product that is not made in the United States. Based in Mount Pleasant, Texas, Priefert is a service center and manufacturer of ranching equipment and it needs that particular steel to fabricate truck beds. The Commerce ruling clears the way for Priefert to source the steel outside the U.S. without having to pay the 25 percent Section 232 tariff. 

As Steel Market Update reported back on Oct. 2 (see The Tariff Exclusion Process: A Case Study in Frustration), the product exclusion filing was complicated and time consuming. Chris Shipp, Priefert General Manager, said he was in weekly contact with Commerce to try to expedite the process. “It took too long to investigate and it was too long to wait for a product that is not made in the United States. It’s frustrating when you see someone who filed a request after you did and they get an answer while you wait.”