Commerce Department delays start of US aluminum import monitor system to March

The US Commerce Department is delaying the effective start date of the proposed aluminum import monitoring and analysis system, or AIM, to March 29 from Jan. 25, the department said Jan. 27.

"This delay in effective date is necessary to allow the incoming [Biden] administration time to review the final rule [the AIM] and consider any additional comments before implementation," Commerce said in a note published in the Federal Register. "Unless otherwise announced, the majority of the final rule will be effective on March 29."

The AIM will require importers to obtain a free, automatic import license before importing aluminum products.

As a result of the delay, importers will not be required to obtain licenses for covered aluminum imports until on or after March 29, the department said.

Initially, the January start of the licensing requirement was to be followed by a one-year grace period, after which importers would also be required to report the country where imported aluminum products were smelted. This grace period is still scheduled to end on Dec. 24 despite the delay in licensing enforcement.

Commerce said it is still soliciting written comments on the AIM through an online portal until Feb. 26.

The final rule and accompanying regulations establishing the AIM were published by Commerce in December 2020. The AIM is modeled on Commerce's existing steel import monitoring and analysis system.

The Senate Appropriations Committee allocated $1.3 million to fund AIM in a fiscal year 2021 appropriations bill passed in November 2020, after Commerce listed the program as a priority in its budget request for next year.