232 Portal External User Guide

232 Portal External User Guide (Updated May 2019).pdf

Objections from the Section 232 National Security Adjustments of Imports of Steel and Aluminum

232 Portal External User Guide

OMB: 0694-0138

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2019

232 EXCLUSION PORTAL:
EXTERNAL USER GUIDE

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................................5
Exclusion process ..........................................................................................................................................................6
Search Features ........................................................................................................................................................8
Search for published filings based on criteria .......................................................................................................8
User registration and Login ..........................................................................................................................................9
Creating a User login profile .....................................................................................................................................9
Step 1: Register as a new user ..............................................................................................................................9
Step 2: Confirm registration ...............................................................................................................................10
Step 3: Login .......................................................................................................................................................10
Step 4: Logout .....................................................................................................................................................11
Step 5: Forgotten Password ................................................................................................................................11
Exclusion Requests ......................................................................................................................................................12
Creating a new exclusion request ..........................................................................................................................12
Step 1: Enter the product information ...............................................................................................................12
Step 2: Enter the REQUESTING organization information ..................................................................................13
Step 3: Enter exclusion request product information .......................................................................................19
Step 4: Commercial names and source countries .............................................................................................24
Step 5: Certification ...........................................................................................................................................26
Submitting the exclusion request ..........................................................................................................................27
Confirmation ......................................................................................................................................................29
Printing the exclusion request submision ..............................................................................................................29
USING THE PDF VERSION OF THE EXCLUSION REQUEST FORM ........................................................................30
Autofill ....................................................................................................................................................................31
Using Autofill to duplicate Exclusion request entries .......................................................................................31
Generating exclusion request form Autofill rules .............................................................................................31
Using an Autofill Profile to fill in exclusion request Fields Automatically .......................................................34
Objection Requests .....................................................................................................................................................37
Creating a new objection request ...........................................................................................................................37
Step 1: Enter organization information .............................................................................................................38
Step 2: Reasons for Objection............................................................................................................................40
Step 3: Challenging the objection ......................................................................................................................41
Step 4: Quantity and Time .................................................................................................................................43
Step 5: Certification ...........................................................................................................................................45
Submitting the OBJECTION request ........................................................................................................................46
Confirmation ......................................................................................................................................................47
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Printing the Objection fILING ..................................................................................................................................48
PDF Version of the Objection Filing Form ...........................................................................................................49
Autofill .....................................................................................................................................................................50
Using Autofill to duplicate Objecton request entries .........................................................................................50
Generating OBJECTION form Autofill rules .......................................................................................................50
Using an Autofill Profile to fill in objection form Fields Automatically ............................................................54
Rebuttal Requests .......................................................................................................................................................56
Creating a rebuttal ..................................................................................................................................................56
Step 1: Search for the objection ........................................................................................................................56
Step 2: Enter Rebutting Organization Information ...........................................................................................57
Step 3: Basis for rebuttal of objection filings ....................................................................................................59
Submitting the Rebuttal filing .................................................................................................................................62
Step 4: Certification ...........................................................................................................................................62
Confirmation ......................................................................................................................................................64
Printing the rebuttal fILING .....................................................................................................................................65
PDF Version of the Objection rebuttal Form ......................................................................................................66
Autofill .....................................................................................................................................................................67
Using Autofill to duplicate REBUTtAL FILING entries ..........................................................................................67
Generating rebuttal form Autofill rules ............................................................................................................67
Using an Autofill Profile to fill in objection REBUTTAL FORM Fields Automatically ........................................71
Surrebuttal Requests ..................................................................................................................................................72
Creating a surrebuttal .............................................................................................................................................72
Step 1: Search for the REBUTTAL .......................................................................................................................72
Step 2: Enter Rebutting Organization Information ...........................................................................................74
Step 3: Basis for rebuttal of objection filings ....................................................................................................76
Step 4: Certification ...........................................................................................................................................79
Submitting a Surrebuttal filing ................................................................................................................................81
Confirmation ......................................................................................................................................................81
Printing the SURrebuttal fILING .............................................................................................................................81
PDF Version of the Surrebbutal Form .................................................................................................................82
Autofill ....................................................................................................................................................................83
Using Autofill to duplicate SURREBBUTAL FILING entries ................................................................................83
Generating surrebuttal form Autofill rules .......................................................................................................83
Using an Autofill Profile to fill in SURREBUTTAL FORM Fields Automatically ..................................................87
Supporting documents................................................................................................................................................88
Confidential Business Information (CBI) ....................................................................................................................89
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Submitting confidential business information (CBI) ................................................................................................89
My Dashboard .............................................................................................................................................................90
Viewing My Dashboard ..........................................................................................................................................90
Step 1: Navigate to my dashboard......................................................................................................................90
Using My Dashboard ..............................................................................................................................................90
Step 1: View Exclusion Request Filings ...............................................................................................................90
Step 2: View Objection Filings ............................................................................................................................92
Step 3: View Objection Rebuttals Filings ............................................................................................................94
Step 4: View SurRebuttals Filings........................................................................................................................95
APPENDIX ....................................................................................................................................................................97
Using Autofill Extentsions On Your Browser .........................................................................................................97
Step 1: DOWNLOAD AUTOFILL ..........................................................................................................................97
STEP 2: Generate Autofill rules ..........................................................................................................................99
Step 3: Using an Autofill Profile to fill in Fields Automatically .......................................................................102
Exporting AUTOFILL RULES From an Autofill Profile .......................................................................................105
IMPORTING AUTOFILL RULES INTO AN AUTOFILL PROFILE ............................................................................107
Manual Mode ...................................................................................................................................................109
Extracting data from portal ..................................................................................................................................111
Step 1: Load data in Excel ................................................................................................................................111

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Due to the large number of exclusion requests, E&C and BIS staff collaborated with ITA’s OCIO
team to develop a user-friendly online portal that will replace the use of the increasingly
cumbersome Federal rulemaking portal (http://www.regulations.gov) for organizations
submitting exclusion requests, objections to exclusions requests, rebuttals, and surrebuttals
under the 232 exclusion process. The new portal will greatly streamline the exclusion process
for external parties, including importers and domestic manufacturers, by eliminating the
submission of attachments, and replacing the data collection point with a web-based form, with
enhanced data integrity and quality controls. In addition, the portal greatly improves
transparency by allowing parties to track all information on each exclusion request in one easyto-use web-based system that is built for the specific needs of the 232 tariff exclusions process.
The new portal allows more seamless information sharing across teams and will allow E&C and
BIS to eliminate thousands of hours of human data entry procedures by automating them – an
incredible savings in time and resources.

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INTRODUCTION

In 2017, the Department of Commerce was asked to conduct an investigation into the
impact on our national security from imports of steel mill products and from imports of
wrought and unwrought aluminum. These investigations were carried out under Section
232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended.
On January 11, 2018, the DOC formally submitted to President Trump the results of the
investigation.
On March 8, 2018, the President announced Presidential Proclamations 9704, 9705, 9711
and 9710 ordering Section 232 tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum. The Secretary of
Commerce has the authority to grant exclusions from the duties, “if the steel or aluminum
articles are determined not to be in a sufficient and reasonable available amount or of a
satisfactory quality or based upon specific national security considerations.” Individuals or
organizations using steel articles in business activities or supplying steel to outside parties
in the U.S. may submit exclusion requests with respect to the Proclamation. In addition,
any individual or organization in the U.S. can file objections to exclusions.
The DOC’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is leading the exclusion process. BIS is
managing the review process of exclusion applications, which domestic industry has
submitted, on a case-by-case basis in a fair and transparent manner. As part of the process,
BIS is working closely with industry specialists within Commerce’s International Trade
Administration (ITA). The Enforcement and Compliance (E&C) unit of the DOC’s ITA
will be responsible for providing technical analyses for product exclusions related to the
proceedings, and making recommendations on the Exclusion Requests.
This document outlines the external user flow of the 232-exclusion process.

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EXCLUSION PROCESS

Only individuals or organizations using steel or aluminum articles identified in Presidential
Proclamations 9704 and 9705 and engaged in business activities in the United States may
submit exclusion requests. Exclusion requests will be posted for a 30-day comment period
on regulations.gov.
Separate exclusion requests must be submitted for each unique steel or aluminum product
import. For an exclusion request to be considered, the requester must provide a full factual
description of the specific product, its properties, and its quantity.
Any individual or organization in the United States may file objections to steel or aluminum
exclusion requests, but the Commerce Department will only consider information directly
related to the submitted exclusion request that is the subject of the objection. Organizations
submitting an objection filing on an exclusion request should provide specific information on
the product that their company can provide that is comparable to the steel or aluminum
product that is the subject of the exclusion request.
Organizations filing an objection should also provide factual information on the production
capabilities at steel or aluminum manufacturing facilities that they operate in the United States;
the availability and delivery time of the products that they manufacture relative to the specific
steel or aluminum product that is subject to an exclusion request; and discussion on the
suitability of its product for the application or applications identified by the exclusion requestor.
All exclusion requests will be reviewed for completeness. Only fully completed exclusion
requests will be considered and posted for public review. All exclusion requests will be made
available for public inspection and copying.
Both the exclusion requests and objection filings will be available for public viewing
on regulations.gov. Processing of exclusion requests normally will not exceed 90 days, including
adjudication of objections submitted on exclusion requests.
Exclusion requesters will have seven days from the opening of the rebuttal period to submit
rebuttals. Objectors to exclusion requests will then have a seven-day surrebuttal period to post
responses, which will be opened once rebuttals are posted by the Department and the case file
is reopened.
To further assist industry moving through the process, the Department of Commerce is also
cataloging the Objection, Rebuttal, and Surrebuttal Identification Number associated with each
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Exclusion Request. The Aluminum Rebuttal & Surrebuttal Finder and the Steel Rebuttal &
Surrebuttal Finder will be uploaded each day at www.commerce.gov/232. Additional details on
the exclusion request process can be found on regulations.gov.
The forms for submitting steel and aluminum exclusion requests, and objections to specific
exclusion requests, will be available on regulations.gov on March 19, 2018, at 8:45 AM. The
steel docket number is BIS-2018-0006 and the aluminum docket number is BIS-2018-0002.
Copies of the forms and additional information on the exclusion process will be available
at https://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/232-steel and https://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/232aluminum on March 19, 2018, at 8:45 AM.
For questions concerning the exclusion process, contact steel232@bis.doc.gov or 202-482-5642
for steel-related queries and aluminum232@bis.doc.gov or 202-482-4757 for aluminum-related
queries.

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SEARCH FEATURES
SEARCH FOR PUBLISHED FILINGS BASED ON CRITERIA

Open the application url: https://www.commerce.gov/page/section-232-investigations
This section allows users to verify that published filings can be searched based on various
criteria including ID, company, product, HTSUS code, status, days remaining, and posted date1.
A user login account is not required to search for published filings.
Click on the search box on above designated section of the dashboard and enter search criteria.
In the search box, search a published finding by typing the ID, company name, product, HTSUS
code, status, or posted date.

*The ‘days remaining’ indicate the days that are left in the comment period to leave any
opposing arguments to an exclusion request (objection), submit a rebuttal, and/or submit a
surrebuttal.
*To search for exclusion requests, objections (pg. 40), rebuttals (pg. 49), surrebuttals (pg. 71),
see search features in subheadings.

*To extract data for exclusion requests, objections, rebuttals, and surrebuttals, see data extract
instructions.

To search for objections, rebuttals, and surrebuttals, see instructions in subsequent sections.

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USER REGISTRATION AND LOGIN

CREATING A USER LOGIN PROFILE

To file any forms in the portal, a user login profile will be required. To create a user login
profile, select the ‘Login’ icon.

STEP 1: REGISTER AS A NEW USER

1a. On the Login page, select ‘Register as a new user’.

1b. Each user login profile requires a valid email and a password to complete the registration
process.
1c. After the valid email and password are entered, select ‘Register’.

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STEP 2: CONFIRM REGISTRATION

2a. A confirmation email will be sent to the login profile email provided. (If you are unable to
find the confirmation email, check you spam folder)
2b. Select the link in the email to confirm your account registration.
STEP 3: LOGIN

After confirming your account, the portal will allow you to login.
3a. Enter the login profile email and password you provided. Then, select ‘Log in’.

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STEP 4: LOGOUT

To logout from the user login account, select the ‘My Info’ icon, and then, select ‘Logout’.

STEP 5: FORGOTTEN PASSWORD

5a. To reset the user login account password, select the ‘Forgot your password?’ icon.

5b. Enter the user login profile email into the space provide, and then, select ‘Submit’.

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5c. A password reset email will be sent to the login profile email provided. (If you are unable to
find the password reset email, check you spam folder)
5d. Select the link in the email and reset your password.
EXCLUSION REQUESTS

CREATING A NEW EXCLUSION REQUE ST

To begin creating the exclusion request, select ‘Create New Exclusion Request’ icon.

STEP 1: ENTER THE PR ODUCT INFORMATION

Each exclusion request must be submitted on each distinct type and dimension of steel or
aluminum product to be imported. For an Exclusion Request to be considered, the exclusion
requester must provide factual information on:
i.
The product type selected will be Steel or Aluminum
ii.
The class of product will correspond with the selected product type2
iii.
The 10-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule Code (HTSUS) should be entered with
no spaces, dashes, letters, or punctuation

Steel – carbon and alloy flat, carbon and alloy long, semi-finished, stainless products, carbon and pipe and tube;
Aluminum – slab, sow, billet, flat, plate, sheet, bars, rod, pipe, tube, foil, casting, forging.
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STEP 2: ENTER THE REQUESTING ORGANIZATION INFORMA TION

2a. The requesting organization3 and importer of record are required fields. All fields with
marked with an * are required. For any required field, do not write N/A.

All website addresses must contain http://www. or https://www. in the website address
fields to be identified as a valid website.

Requestor
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2b. The parent company of the requesting organization must also be documented if different
than the requesting organization. For example:

2c. The importer of record must be completed even if it matches the requesting organization.

The importer of record should be the organization that is bringing the products into the U.S.
from a non-U.S. producer. The importer of record should be the organization that is seeking
exclusion. All fields with marked with an * are required. For any required field, do not write N/A.

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Select

and continue to the next section.

If the organization has a representative other than the agent submitting the exclusion request
on its behalf, the contact information must be disclosed if applicable.

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2d. Organization Activity
If the parent organization holds any ownership, the activity, country where the organization is
headquartered, and primary activity4 must be explained:

If ‘other’ is selected, a comment section will appear, and details about the selection can be
documented.

2e. If the parent organization does not hold ownership, identify the primary type of steel
activity. If other, explain:

Primary activity could include U.S. Distributor, Non-U.S. Distributor, U.S. Service Center, Non- U.S. Service Center,
Manufacturer, or other
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If ‘other’ is selected as the primary type of steel activity of the exclusion requestor, a comment
section will appear, and details about the selection can be documented.
2f. The exclusion request must provide information whether the U.S. manufactures the
product, whether the product can be sufficiently supplied, and whether domestic producers
can produce the product in a timely manner:


The basis of the exclusion must be of insufficient availability, no U.S. production, or
national security requirement



The percentage of product that the exclusion product applies to must be disclosed and
the manufacturing and delivery times must be recorded in days

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

The number of shipments and port information5 must be documented

*Note the units of measurement and delivery/manufacturing time cannot be changed from
current settings. All fields with marked with an * are required. For any required field, do not
write N/A. If ‘other’ is selected to explain why your organization requires an exclusion, a
comment section will appear, and details about the selection can be documented.

If the requestors are submitting the exclusion request on behalf of an international producer
that produces products internationally, select ‘Yes’ and identify the non-U.S. producer.

Select

and continue to the next section.

To add more than one port of entry, select + icon. To remove a port of entry, select – icon.
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STEP 3: ENTER EXCLUSION REQUEST PRODUCT INFORMATION

3a. A complete description of the product should be defined and disclosed:






The description should only include information on a single product and not a range of
products
The description must be limited solely to physical properties (e.g., chemical
requirements, mechanical requirements, dimensions, etc.) and exact descriptive
terms/phrases covering the product subject to the Exclusion Request (e.g., “hot-rolled,”
“seamless pipe,” “suitable for use in boilers,” “longitudinally submerged arc welded,”
etc.)
Physical properties must be defined based on actual, rather than nominal,
measurements, references to specific dimensions6 or measurements7 will be interpreted
as meaning the exact dimension or measurement
Ranges8 are allowed and should be identified based on the end points of the range
rather than through references to absolute or percentage tolerances

3b. Note that this section allows for multiple standard organizations9 to be identified that have
set specifications for the product type listed in exclusion request.

e.g., “cross-sectional diameter of 5.50 mm”

e.g., “yield strength of 300 MPa,” “carbon content 0.08%,” etc.

e.g., “cross-sectional diameter falling within the range 5.35 mm and 5.65 mm,” “yield strength greater than or
equal to 300 MPa,” “carbon content less than or equal to 0.15%, by weight,” etc.
9

ATSM, SAE, British, DIN, EN, etc. These specifications are not interchangeable with HTSUS codes.
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If ‘Not Listed’ is selected, type in the name of the organization and provide the designation.
Identify the classification and properties of the product covered under this exclusion request.
This should include both the starting materials for the steel product, (such as slab, bloom,
billets, etc.) as well as treatments made to the product, (such as annealed, hot/cold rolled, tin
plated, etc.). Use the comment box for anything that is not listed in the boxes.
The chemical composition for the product is outlined in 3b.

If the classification or property is not listed above, add to text boxes provided. Use comment
section to give additional details to the property.

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3c. Product Information – Description of properties
Identify the chemical composition of the specific steel product for which your organization
seeks an exclusion. Numbers may appear rounded, but full values will be stored. The
composition should have minimum and maximum values.
Please note that values below 1 should be entered with a zero and decimal point. For example:
‘0.4’.

If the product includes a chemical(s) not listed, use the comment section to provide the name
and composition percentages. *Note chemical composition is not proprietary information10.

See CBI
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3d. Dimensions for the product must be for a single product and a single size, not a range of
products and or sizes11.
The dimensions must correspond to product and should have a minimum and maximum value.
If values are the same, they should be identified in the minimum and maximum field 12. This
applies to product specifications, strength, and toughness if applicable.

*Note unit of measurement is in millimeters and cannot be altered. If there are any additional
specifications, explain in comment box.

A single request must be filed for each specific product, specific to dimensions and must correspond to product
type
12

Full values are stored, while numbers may appear rounded
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3e. Performance data for ductility, magnetic permeability, surface finish should have minimum
and maximum values. Coating type and composition values including metal coating process,
material type, weight, and thickness are required.

*Note if there are any additional methods used, identify them in the comment section. All
fields with marked with an * are required. For any required field, do not write N/A.

Select

and continue to the next section.

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STEP 4: COMMERCIAL N AMES AND SOURCE COUNTRIES

4.a The commercial name for the product in this here can be more than one commercial
product name. Add additional commercial names for the single product listed for exclusion by
using the + button.

If a name needs to be explained or provide more details, add to comment box.

4b. The use(s) of the product should be outlined below, as well reasonings why existing
products are not comparable to the product at the subject of this request. All fields with
marked with an * are required. For any required field, do not write N/A.

If the Exclusion is needed to support U.S. national security requirements (critical infrastructure
or national defense systems), provide a detailed description of the specific uses of this
single product in the comment section.
4c. Identify the source countries for the single product for which the Exclusion is requested, the
annual quantity to be supplied in kilograms, and the name of the current manufacturer(s) of the

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steel product. If this product is not obtained directly from the manufacturer, identify the
current supplier(s) and the country of the supplier(s).
The country of origin, country of export, exclusion quantity, current manufacturer, and current
supplier are required fields. Add additional countries of origin, export etc. by using the +
button.

*Note the amount provided here should match the amount provided in the Total Requested
Annual Exclusion Quantity in kilograms.
4d. This section outlines the product availability within the U.S. If a domestic party currently
manufactures the product or a substitute, select ‘Yes’ and give details in the comment section.

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If any response is a ‘Yes’, a comment box will appear and details about the response may be
detailed.

4e. The Department of Homeland Security/Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reviews the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) code cited in the submission for
accuracy. If CBP determines the code is inaccurate, the request is denied, and the requester
provided CBP contact information. If CBP determines the HTSUS is accurate, the request is
approved if there are no national security concerns and the decision posted on the portal.

Select

and continue to the next section.

STEP 5: CERTIFICATION

This Exclusion Request must be signed by an organization official specifically authorized to
certify the document as being accurate and complete.
The undersigned certifies that the information herein supplied in response to this questionnaire
is complete and correct to the best of his/her knowledge. All fields with marked with an * are
required.

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SUBMITTING THE EXCLUSION REQUEST

This is where any supporting documents can be attached to the exclusion request form. If any
additional information that is business relevant, but proprietary, select ‘Yes’. (Note: for an
exclusion request, information that is proprietary or otherwise business confidential should not
be attached or emailed. If this information is required, it will be requested.)

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filled, a red exclamation point will appear,
showing which section requires corrections.
Once all required fields are completed, and ‘Review” is selected, an additional screen will
appear, allowing users to print a copy of their submission for their records.

To submit the request, select
After, an additional screen will appear, indicating the Exclusion Request number. This number
will allow you to search for the specific filing and allow objectors to find and object to the
request. Please retain this number for your records.
To upload supporting documents to the exclusion request, it must be in the form of a PDF.
Select ‘Choose File’, Click on the documents you wish to upload from your folder and select
‘Ok’. Once it appears in the file bar, select ‘Upload File’ then select ‘Done’. (Note: for an
exclusion request, information that is proprietary or otherwise business confidential should not
be attached or emailed.)
If you do not wish to upload a document, select ‘Done’.

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CONFIRMATION

Once the exclusion request has been submitted, it enters a pending period for review, and once
posted, gives objectors the opportunity to object to the request.
After submission, the exclusion request can be found, and its status tracked, under ‘My
Dashboard’ by the user that submitted the request.
Once posted, the request will appear on the portal homepage. To the right on the same row of
an exclusion request ID, ‘Details’ will allow users to view the posted exclusion requests and
submit an objection.

Once an exclusion request is posted, those that object to the exclusion will have 30 days to
submit their objections.

PRINTING THE EXCLUSI ON REQUEST SUBMISION

To print an Exclusion Request submission simply go to ‘Settings’ on the upper right corner of
your browser and click on Print page or Right click anywhere on the page and select ‘Print.’

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USING THE PDF VERSION OF THE EXCLUSION R EQUEST FORM

PDF versions or the Exclusion Request form are available for download. To locate them click on
(Enter guidance here)
The PDF form gives you the ability to fill out the form electronically or manually; circulate it
among your team members; and print and save work in progress. (Note: Completed PDFs
cannot be submitted as completed exclusion requests. All filings must be completed through
the portal)

(Insert screenshot here)

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AUTOFILL

USING AUTOFILL TO DUPLICATE EXCLUSION REQUEST ENTRIES

The autofill option found in web browsers allows you to fill out commonly entered information
in a web form. This information is only remembered on your computer and will only be autofilled in forms if your browser settings permit it. For instructions on how to download autofill
on your browser please refer to the Appendix section of this guide.

GENERATING EXCLUSION REQUEST FO RM AUTOFILL RULES

The following instructions explain how to enable the ‘Autofill’ feature on your Chrome browser.

Step 1: Download the Autofill add-on to your browser. For instructions, please see the
Appendix section.
Step 2: Go to the 232 Portal (insert link here) and complete filling out the Exclusion Request
form.

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2a. Once you have completed Steps 1-5 of the Exclusion Request form, click on the ‘Autofill’
logo on the Chrome menu, located on the right-hand upper corner of your browser.

2b. Complete the steps below displayed on the Autofill task bar. This option allows you to
quickly save all the form data that you’ve entered into a new profile that you can use at a later
time to autofill form fields.

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2c. Create a New Profile by selecting ‘New’ from the dropdown menu on 2) Choose a Profile:

2d. Save New Profile name. For example: “RTO Steel – Exclusion Request” and click OK.

2e. Click on ‘Generate Autofill Rules’. You will see a confirmation message that reads “Done!”

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Note: Alternatively, after you have completed filling out the form you can right-click anywhere
at the page, go to Autofill and select “Add rules for this page “then follow the instructions
above from 2d. on how to create a New Profile.

Now that you have created an Autofill Profile, you can use this profile to auto-populate other
Exclusion Request forms.

USING AN AUTOFILL PROFILE TO FILL IN EXCLUSION REQUEST FIELDS AUTOMATICALLY

3a. Create a new submission form. In this example, an Exclusion Request. First, on the main
page select ‘Create New Exclusion Request’ icon.

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3b. Right-click anywhere on the Exclusion Request form, and select ‘Autofill’, then ‘Execute
Profile’, and select the profile you want to use to autofill the form. For example: “RTO Steel –
Exclusion Request.”

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The fields on the form will automatically populate with the data from the profile selected.

Step 2 through 5 of the form will be auto-filled too.
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OBJECTION REQUESTS

CREATING A NEW OBJEC TION REQUEST

Objection Filing Requirements: Any producer in the United States may file an objection to an
Exclusion Request. Each objection request should be specific to a product type based on an
exclusion request.
To begin creating the objection request, search for the exclusion request using the search box
and entering the EXCLUSION REQUEST NUMBER – or sorting by criteria, or manually searching for
the exclusion request.
For an objection to be filed, the status of the exclusion request must be ‘Pending-Objection
Window Open’. To the right on the same row, select ‘Details’.

Once ‘Details’ has been selected, the exclusion request, as well as attachments, are visible for
review.
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At the bottom of the screen, select ‘Create Objection Filing’.

For an objection filing to be considered, organizations must provide factual information on:
i.
ii.
iii.

the steel or aluminum products that they manufacture in the United States,
the production capabilities at steel or aluminum manufacturing facilities that they
operate in the United States
the availability and delivery time of the products that they manufacture relative to
the specific steel or aluminum product that is subject to an Exclusion Request.

STEP 1: ENTER ORGANIZATION INFORMATION

The objector (organization) is a required field. All fields with marked with an * are required. For
any required field, do not write N/A.

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The organization requesting exclusion should match the organization which submitted the
exclusion request.

The exclusion request identification # corresponds to the specific exclusion request.

The HTSUS code should correspond to the correct HTSUS number of the product subject to
objection. If the objector is filing an objection on the inconsistencies of HTSUS codes, that will
be noted in ‘Reasons for Objection’.
*Note the annual exclusion quantity requested is not the same as the average annual
consumption. The unit of measurement is in kilograms and cannot be changed.

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Select

and continue to the next section

STEP 2: REASONS FOR OBJECTION

Organizations submitting an objection filing on an Exclusion Request should provide specific
information on the product that their company can provide that is comparable to the steel
product that is the subject of the Exclusion Request.
This information should include:
i.
ii.

discussion on the suitability of its product for the application identified by the
Exclusion Requestor
a full technical description of the properties of the product it manufactures
relative to specifications provided in the Exclusion Request posted on the portal,
including information on dimensions, strength, toughness, ductility, surface
finish, coatings, and other relevant data.

The objection request should pertain to the following: standard product, special order product,
or custom product.

If the identical or substitute product specified in the exclusion request can be domestically
manufactured in a period of less than 8 weeks, identify the location, timeframe and plant
production information.

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Multiple facilities and locations can be added by selecting the + icon. The format is the same for
substitute products.

Select

and continue to the next section.

STEP 3: CHALLENGING THE OBJECTION

3a. The reason that the exclusion request is being challenged should be outlined using the
following criteria:

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Use the comment box to discuss the suitability of your organization’s steel product compared
to the product identified by the Requestor.
3b. Provide a full technical description of the properties of the product it manufactures relative
to specifications cited in the Exclusion Request posted in the portal. Identify the chemical
composition of the specific product for which your organization can manufacture at a companyowned production facility in the United States. Numbers may appear rounded, but full values
will be stored. The composition should have minimum and maximum values.

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If the product includes a chemical(s) not listed, use the comment section to provide the name
and composition percentages. *Note chemical composition is not proprietary information13.
3c. Performance data for ductility, magnetic permeability, surface finish should have minimum
and maximum values. Coating type and composition values including metal coating process,
material type, weight, and thickness are required14.

*Note if there are any additional methods used, identify them in the comment section. All
fields with marked with an * are required. For any required field, do not write N/A

Select

and continue to the next section.

STEP 4: QUANTITY AND TIME

4a. This section should document the percentage of product that can be covered under the
objection request. The available quantity should show that domestic product is available in

See CBI

Add coating weight and thickness where applicable
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sufficient quantity, and/or the objector can produce and supply the percentage of steel product
mentioned at the subject of the request.
Manufacturing time and delivery time should be detailed to include:






the product is made in the U.S. at or can be manufactured at U.S facilities
the objector can manufacture the product within the time frame specific to the
request
the time it takes to manufacture the product from the time the purchase order
has been completed
the time it takes to ship the product once manufacturing is complete
domestic steel product is available for timely delivery from the time the
purchase order is received until the product is ready to ship

Use the comment section to include any additional details on quantity and
manufacturing/delivery time.
4b. The following sections allow the objector to justify the objection request.

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4c. If there has been any attempt to purchase or sell the product to the requestor in the last
two years, select ‘Yes’ and detail in the comment section.

Select

and continue to the next section.

STEP 5: CERTIFICATION

This objection request must be signed by an organization official specifically authorized to
certify the document as being accurate and complete.
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The undersigned certifies that the information herein supplied in response to this questionnaire
is complete and correct to the best of his/her knowledge. All fields with marked with an * are
required.

SUBMITTING THE OBJECTION REQUEST

This is where any supporting documents can be attached to the objection request form. If any
additional information that is business relevant, but proprietary, select ‘Yes’.

showing which section requires corrections.
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Once all required fields are completed, and ‘Review” is selected, an additional screen will
appear, allowing users to print a copy of their submission for their records.

To submit the request, select
After, an additional screen will appear, indicating the Objection Filing number. This number will
allow you to search for the specific filing and allow rebutters to find and respond to the
objection. Please retain this number for your records.
To upload supporting documents to the objection request, it must be in the form of a PDF. Select
‘Choose File’, Click on the documents you wish to upload from your folder and select ‘Ok’. Once
it appears in the file bar, select ‘Upload File’ then select ‘Done’. (Note: for an objection filing,
information that is proprietary or otherwise business confidential should not be attached or
emailed.)
If you do not wish to upload a document, select ‘Done’.

CONFIRMATION

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Once the objection has been submitted, it enters a pending period for review, and once posted,
gives rebutters the opportunity to respond to the objection.
After submission, the objection can be found under ‘My Dashboard’ by the user that submitted
the objection.
Once posted, the objection will appear in the details of the exclusion request it is linked to. On
the homepage, to the right on the same row of an exclusion request ID, ‘Details’ will allow users
to view the posted exclusion requests and see any posted objections.

At the end of the submitted request, there is a section ‘Published Objection Filings’ which will
have the posted objection filing. ‘Details’ will allow users to view the submitted objection filing
and submit a rebuttal.

The requestor will have 7 days to submit their rebuttals to the objection.
All Objections Filings will be reviewed for completeness. Only fully completed Objection filings
will be considered and posted for public review.

PRINTING THE OBJECTION FILING

To print the Objection filing submission simply go to ‘Settings’ on the upper right corner of your
browser and click on Print page or right click anywhere on the page and select ‘Print,” or rightclick anywhere on the page and select Print.
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PDF VERSION OF THE O BJECTION FILING FORM

PDF versions or the Objection Filing form are available for download. To locate them click on..
The PDF form gives you the ability to fill out the form electronically or manually; circulate it
among your team members; and print and save work in progress. (Note: Completed PDFs
cannot be submitted as completed objection filings. All filings must be completed through the
portal)

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AUTOFILL

USING AUTOFILL TO DUPLICATE OBJECTON REQUEST ENTRIES

The autofill option found in web browsers allows you to fill out commonly entered information
in a web form. This information is only remembered on your computer and will only be autofilled in forms if your browser settings permit it. For instructions on how to download or add an
autofill extension to your browser please refer to the Appendix section of this guide.

GENERATING OBJECTION FORM AUTOFILL RULES

The following instructions explain how to enable the ‘Autofill’ feature on your Chrome browser.
Step 1: Download the Autofill add-on to your browser. For instructions, please see the
Appendix section.
Step 2: Go to the 232 Portal (insert link here) and complete filling out the Objection Filing form.

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2a. Once you have completed all of the steps of the objection filing form, click on the ‘Autofill’
logo on the Chrome menu, located on the right-hand upper corner of your browser.

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2c. Create a New Profile by selecting ‘New’ from the dropdown menu on 2) Choose a Profile:

2d. Save New Profile name. For example: “ABC Global – Steel – Objection Request” and click
OK.

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2e. Click on ‘Generate Autofill Rules’. You will see a confirmation message that reads “Done!”

Now that you have created an Autofill Profile, you can use this profile to auto-populate other
Exclusion Request forms.
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USING AN AUTOFILL PROFILE TO FILL IN OBJECTION FORM FIELDS AUTOMATICALLY

3a. Create a New Objection Filing Form.

3b. Right-click anywhere on the New Objection Filing Form and select ‘Autofill’, then ‘Execute
Profile’, and select the profile you want to use to autofill the form. For example: “ABC Global –
Steel – Objection Request.”

The fields on the form will automatically populate with the data from the profile selected:
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Step 2 through 5 of the form will be auto-filled too.

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REBUTTAL REQUESTS
CREATING A REBUTTAL

Rebuttals to objections will be allowed only from individuals or organizations that have
submitted an exclusion request. Rebuttal periods will last for seven days, and the Commerce
Department will open rebuttal periods once it has posted all the complete objections received
on an exclusion request.
STEP 1: SEARCH FOR T HE OBJECTION

After the objection comment period closes for your exclusion request, use the search box to
find the exclusion request15. Have the search criteria available to locate the specific exclusion
request.
To begin creating the rebuttal objection request, search for the exclusion request using the
search box and entering the EXCLUSION REQUEST NUMBER – or sorting by criteria, or manually
searching for the exclusion request.

As a courtesy, the Commerce Department maintains an Excel spreadsheet available on www.commerce.gov that
identifies all rebuttals filed against your objections. Please note, however, that these instructions are not meant to
be considered binding and are only suggested guidance. While this spreadsheet is updated daily, parties should
rely on the documents from www.regulatons.gov to identify the universe of exclusion requests, objections, and
comments.
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On the home screen, enter the Company in the search box and then under status ‘PendingRebuttal Window Open’ should be shown.
To the right on the same row, ‘Details’ will allow users to view the original exclusion request
view the objection.

At the bottom of the submitted request, there is a section ‘Published Objection Filings’ which
will have the submitted objection request. ‘Details’ will allow users to view the submitted
objection request and submit a rebuttal.
Scroll to the bottom of the objection request to the attachment section and select ‘Create
Objection Rebuttal’.

STEP 2: ENTER REBUTTING ORGANIZATION INFORMATION

2a. The rebutting organization would be the requestors of the original exclusion request and
should match previously submitted information. The requesting organization is a required field.
All fields with marked with an * are required. For any required field, do not write N/A.

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2b. The rebuttal form will include the request identification number and the objection to the
exclusion request number. These identification numbers can be used in the search feature.

*Note the exclusion request identification # (Page 38) and the objection to the exclusion
request identifier # (Page 48). These are unique identifiers that can be used to search for the
related cases and can be used to create rebuttals and surrebuttals.
The rebuttal request should pertain to a substitute product or identical product.
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To include CBI information with the rebuttal request, see CBI.
2c. The basis of the rebuttal should challenge the objector’s ability to:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.

make the substitute/identical product in a reasonable amount of time
manufacture a product that is of sufficient quality standards as mentioned in the
original exclusion request
can supply the requested amount as specified in exclusion request
can deliver the product from the manufacturing facility to its destination in a timely
manner

If the rebuttal is challenging manufacturing time, quality, available quantity, and/or delivery
time, select ‘Yes’ and continue to Step 3.
If the rebuttal is challenging the objector on the basis other than the above factors, explain the
rebuttal basis under ‘Other’ and provide the rebuttal basis in detail in Step 3.

Select

and continue to the next section.

STEP 3: BASIS FOR REBUTTAL OF OBJECTION FILINGS

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The rebutters will have the ability to identify the specific challenge they are refuting. Each
section manufacturing time, quality, available quantity, and delivery time must have ‘Yes’ or
‘No’ responses.
Example: If ‘Yes’ is selected under ‘Manufacturing Time’, the corresponding section
‘Manufacturing Time challenging the objector’s assertion that’ must have one of its
subcategories with an answer of ‘Yes’.
If a ‘Yes’ answer for the statement is selected, you must provide your reasoning to why the
point(s) are invalid for each statement and section.
If the product cannot be made in a suffienct time frame, select ‘Yes’ to appropriate claim and
provide reasoning in the comment section.

Manufacturing time in the objection may be found in the spaces below, but not limited to
comment or other documents throughout the objection.

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If a product in the objection request is not of identical, substitute, or adequate
(interchangeable) quality, under the quality factor, select ‘Yes’ and provide a detailed
description on why the product does not meet quality requirements.

If the quantity in the objection is not a sufficient amount necessary to meet the capacity as
mentioned in the exclusion request, select ‘Yes’ where appropriate and detail the reasoning in
the comment section.

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If the product at the subject of the request cannot be delivered in a timely manner, select ‘Yes’
where appropriate and detail the reasoning in the comment section.

Delivery time in the objection may be found in the space below, but not limited to comment or
other documents throughout the objection.

Select

and continue to the next section.

SUBMITTING THE REBUT TAL FILING
STEP 4: CERTIFICATION

This rebuttal objection must be signed by an organization official specifically authorized to
certify the document as being accurate and complete.
The organization information must match the organization submitting the rebuttal request.

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Select
After selecting ‘Review’, a final check will be conducted on your filing to ensure all required
fields have been correctly filled. If any required fields have been left blank or are incorrectly
filled, a red exclamation point will appear,
showing which section requires corrections.
Once all required fields are completed, and ‘Review” is selected, an additional screen will
appear, allowing users to print a copy of their submission for their records.

To submit the request, select
After, an additional screen will appear, indicating the Objection Rebuttal number. This number
will allow you to search for the specific filing and allow surrebutters to find and respond to the
rebuttal. Please retain this number for your records.
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To upload supporting documents to the rebuttal request, it must be in the form of a PDF. Select
‘Choose File’, Click on the documents you wish to upload from your folder and select ‘Ok’. Once
it appears in the file bar, select ‘Upload File’ then select ‘Done’. (Note: for CBI information with
the rebuttal request, see CBI.)
If you do not wish to upload a document, select ‘Done’.

CONFIRMATION

Once the objection rebuttal has been submitted, it enters a pending period for review, and
once posted, gives surrebutters the opportunity to rebut the objection rebuttal.
After submission, the objection rebuttal can be found under ‘My Dashboard’ by the user that
submitted the objection.
Once posted, the objection rebuttal will appear in the details of the exclusion request and
objection filing it is linked to. On the homepage, to the right on the same row of an exclusion
request ID, ‘Details’ will allow users to view the posted exclusion requests and see any posted
objections and objection rebuttals.

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At the end of the submitted request, there is a section ‘Published Objection Filings’ which will
have the posted objection filing and posted objection rebuttal. ‘Details’ will allow users to view
the posted objection filing, posted objection rebuttal, and submit a surrebuttal.

The surrebutters will have 7 days to submit their surrebuttals to the objection rebuttal.
All rebuttal filings will be reviewed for completeness. Only fully completed objection rebuttal
filings will be considered and posted for public review.

PRINTING THE REBUTTAL FILING

To print the Rebuttal filing submission. Simply go to ‘Settings’ on the upper right corner of your
browser and click on Print page or right click anywhere on the page and select “Print.”

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PDF VERSION OF THE O BJECTION REBUTTAL FORM

PDF versions or the Objection Rebuttal Filing form are available for download. To locate them
click on..
The PDF form gives you the ability to fill out the form electronically or manually; circulate it
among your team members; and print and save work in progress. (Note: Completed PDFs
cannot be submitted as completed objection rebuttal filings. All filings must be completed
through the portal)

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(Insert screenshot here)

AUTOFILL

USING AUTOFILL TO DUPLICATE REBUTTAL FILING ENTRIES

The autofill option found in web browsers allows you to fill out commonly entered information
in a web form. This information is only remembered on your computer and will only be autofilled in forms if your browser settings permit it. For instructions on how to download or add an
autofill extension to your browser please refer to the Appendix section of this guide.

GENERATING REBUTTAL FORM AUTOFILL RULES

The following instructions explain how to enable the ‘Autofill’ feature on your Chrome browser.

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2a. Once you have completed Steps 1-5 of the Objection Rebuttal form, Click on the ‘Autofill’
logo on the Chrome menu, located on the right-hand upper corner of your browser.

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2c. Create a New Profile by selecting ‘New’ from the dropdown menu on 2) Choose a Profile:

2d. Save New Profile name. For example: “ABCD International – Objection Rebuttal” and click
OK.

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2e. Click on ‘Generate Autofill Rules’. You will see a confirmation message that reads “Done!”

Now that you have created an Autofill Profile, you can use this profile to auto-populate other
Exclusion Request forms.

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USING AN AUTOFILL PROFILE TO FILL IN OBJECTION REBUTTAL FORM FIELDS AUTOMATICALLY

Step 1: Create a New Objection Filing Form.

Step 2: Right-click anywhere on the New Objection Rebuttal Form and select ‘Autofill’, then
‘Execute Profile’, and select the profile you want to use to autofill the form. For example:
“ABCD International – Objection Rebuttal.”

The fields on the form will automatically populate with the data from the profile selected:

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Step 2 through 5 of the form will be auto-filled too.

SURREBUTTAL REQUESTS

CREATING A SURREBUTTAL
SURREBUTTALS TO REBUTTALS WILL BE ALLOWED ONLY FROM INDIVIDUALS OR ORGANIZATIONS THAT
HAVE SUBMITTED AN OBJECTION REQUEST. SURREBUTTAL PERIODS WILL LAST FOR SEVEN DAYS, AND
THE COMMERCE DEPARTMENT WILL OPEN SURREBUTTAL PERIODS ONCE IT HAS POSTED ALL THE
COMPLETED REBUTTALS RECEIVED ON AN EXCLUSION REQUEST.

STEP 1: SEARCH FOR T HE REBUTTAL

After the objection comment period closes for the rebuttal, use the search box to find the
exclusion request that pertains to the rebuttal you want to surrebut. Have the search criteria
available to locate the specific exclusion request.

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To begin creating the surrebuttal, search for the exclusion request using the search box and
entering the EXCLUSION REQUEST NUMBER – or sorting by criteria, or manually searching for the
exclusion request.

On the home screen, enter the Company in the search box and then under status ‘PendingSurrebuttal Window Open’ should be shown.
To the right on the same row, ‘Details’ will allow users to view the original exclusion request
view the objection.
*Note the search criteria can include the exclusion request number, the objection to the
exclusion request identifier, as well as company criteria:

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At the bottom of the submitted request, there is a section ‘Published Objection Filings’ which
will have the submitted objection request. ‘Details’ will allow users to view the submitted
objection request, the submitted rebuttal and submit a surrebuttal.
Scroll to the bottom of the objection rebuttal request to the attachment section and select
‘Create Surrebuttal’.

STEP 2: ENTER REBUTTING ORGANIZATION INFORMATION

2a. The rebutting organization would be the objectors of the original exclusion request and
should match previously submitted information. The requesting organization is a required field.
All fields with marked with an * are required. For any required field, do not write N/A.

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2b. The surrebuttal form will include the exclusion request identification number and the
objection to the exclusion request number. These identification numbers can be used in the
search feature.

*Note the exclusion request identification # (Page 38) and the objection to the exclusion
request identifier # (Page 48). These are unique identifiers that can be used to search for the
related cases and can be used to create rebuttals and surrebuttals.
The surrebuttal request should pertain to a substitute product or identical product.
To include CBI information with the surrebuttal, see CBI.
2c. The basis of the surrebuttal should challenge the rebutter’s ability to:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.

If the surrebuttal is challenging manufacturing time, quality, available quantity, and/or delivery
time, select ‘Yes’ and continue to Step 3.
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If the surrebuttal is challenging the rebutter on the basis other than the above factors, explain
the rebuttal basis under ‘Other’ and provide the rebuttal basis in detail in Step 3.

Select

and continue to the next section.

STEP 3: BASIS FOR REBUTTAL OF OBJECTION FILINGS

The surrebutters will have the ability to identify the specific challenge they are refuting. Each
section manufacturing time, quality, available quantity, and delivery time must have ‘Yes’ or
‘No’ responses.
Example: If ‘Yes’ is selected under ‘Manufacturing Time’, the corresponding section
‘Manufacturing Time challenging the objector’s assertion that’ must have one of its
subcategories with an answer of ‘Yes’.
If a ‘Yes’ answer for the statement is selected, you must provide your reasoning to why the
point(s) are invalid for each statement and section.

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If the product cannot be made in a suffienct time frame, select ‘Yes’ to appropriate claim and
provide reasoning in the comment section.

Manufacturing time in the surrebuttal may be found in the spaces below, but not limited to
comment or other documents throughout the objection.

If a product in the surrebuttal is not of identical, substitute, or adequate (interchangeable)
quality, under the quality factor, select ‘Yes’ and provide a detailed description on why the
product does not meet quality requirements.

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If the quantity in the surrebuttal is not a sufficient amount necessary to meet the capacity as
mentioned in the exclusion request, select ‘Yes’ where appropriate and detail the reasoning in
the comment section.

If the product at the subject of the request cannot be delivered in a timely manner, select ‘Yes’
where appropriate and detail the reasoning in the comment section.

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Delivery time in the objection may be found in the space below, but not limited to comment or
other documents throughout the surrebuttal.

Select

and continue to the next section.

STEP 4: CERTIFICATION

This surrebuttal must be signed by an organization official specifically authorized to certify the
document as being accurate and complete.
The undersigned certifies that the information herein supplied in response to this questionnaire
is complete and correct to the best of his/her knowledge. All fields with marked with an * are
required.

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Select

After selecting ‘Review’, a final check will be conducted on your filing to ensure all required
fields have been correctly filled. If any required fields have been left blank or are incorrectly
filled, a red exclamation point will appear,
showing which section requires corrections.
Once all required fields are completed, and ‘Review” is selected, an additional screen will
appear, allowing users to print a copy of their submission for their records.

To submit the request, select
After, an additional screen will appear, indicating the Surrebuttal number. This number will
allow you to search for the specific filing. Please retain this number for your records.
To upload supporting documents to the surrebuttal request, it must be in the form of a PDF.
Select ‘Choose File’, Click on the documents you wish to upload from your folder and select ‘Ok’.
Once it appears in the file bar, select ‘Upload File’ then select ‘Done’. (Note: for CBI information
with the rebuttal request, see CBI.)
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If you do not wish to upload a document, select ‘Done’.

SUBMITTING A SURREBUTTAL FILING

CONFIRMATION

Once the surrebuttal request has been submitted, it enters a pending period for review.
All surrebuttal filings will be reviewed for completeness. Only fully completed objection filings
will be considered and posted for public review.

PRINTING THE SURREBUTTAL FILING

To print a Surrebuttal filing submission. Simply go to ‘Settings’ on the upper right corner of your
browser and click on Print page or right click anywhere on the page and select “Print.”

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PDF VERSION OF THE SURREBBUTAL FORM

PDF versions or the Surrebuttal form are available for download. To locate them click on..
The PDF form gives you the ability to fill out the form electronically or manually; circulate it
among your team members; and print and save work in progress. (Note: Completed PDFs
cannot be submitted as completed surrebuttal filings. All filings must be completed through the
portal)
(Insert screenshot here)

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AUTOFILL

USING AUTOFILL TO DUPLICATE SURREBBUTAL FILING ENTRIES

The autofill option found in web browsers allows you to fill out commonly entered information
in a web form. This information is only remembered on your computer and will only be autofilled in forms if your browser settings permit it. For instructions on how to download or add an
autofill extension to your browser please refer to the Appendix section of this guide.
GENERATING SURREBUTTAL FORM AUTOFILL RULES

The following instructions explain how to enable the ‘Autofill’ feature on your Chrome browser.

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2b. Once you have completed Steps 1-5 of the Objection Surrebuttal form, click on the ‘Autofill’
logo on the Chrome menu, located on the right-hand upper corner of your browser.

2c. Complete the steps below displayed on the Autofill task bar. This option allows you to
quickly save all the form data that you’ve entered into a new profile that you can use at a later
time to autofill form fields.

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2d. Create a New Profile by selecting ‘New’ from the dropdown menu on 2) Choose a Profile:

2e. Save New Profile name. For example: “ABC United – Surrebuttal Filing” and click OK.

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2f. Click on ‘Generate Autofill Rules’. You will see a confirmation message that reads “Done!”

Now that you have created an Autofill Profile, you can use this profile to auto-populate other
Exclusion Request forms.

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USING AN AUTOFILL PROFILE TO FILL IN SURREBUTTAL FORM FIELDS AUTOMATICALLY

Step 3: Create a new Surrebuttal Filing Form.

3a. Right-click anywhere on the New Objection Rebuttal Form and select ‘Autofill’, then
‘Execute Profile’, and select the profile you want to use to autofill the form. For example: “ABC
United – Surrebuttal Filing.”

The fields on the form will automatically populate with the data from the profile selected:

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Step 2 through 5 of the form will be auto-filled too.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS
Your supporting documentation should
i.
ii.

Be no more than ten pages, and,
Include public documents and public versions of your confidential business information
(CBI) documentation.

If confidential business information (CBI) is part of your requests, you must mark the
appropriate sections by selecting ‘Yes’ where appropriate.

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CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION (CBI)
SUBMITTING CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION (CBI)

Only as an alternate submission, you may email your CBI Rebuttal document to
232rebuttals@doc.gov or CBI Surrebuttal 232surrebuttals@doc.gov on the same day you
submit your request on the 232 submission portal.
a) The email subject line must include the original 232 Exclusions Portal Exclusion Request
(ER) ID # and the body of the email must include the 232 Exclusions Portal Rebuttal (RB) ID
#, or Surrebuttal (SR) ID # you received from the 232 Exclusions Portal when you
successfully submitted your rebuttal or surrebuttal.
b) An adequate public version, adhering to the requirements outlined in the regulation,
must simultaneously accompany the submission of each surrebuttal form. If the submitting
person claims that summarization is not possible, the claim must be accompanied by a full
explanation of the reasons supporting that claim. Generally, numerical data will be
considered adequately summarized if grouped or presented in terms of indices or figures
within 10 percent of the actual figure. If an individual portion of the numerical data is
voluminous (e.g., 5 pages of numerical data), at least one percent of the numerical data,
representative of that portion must be summarized. Submit no more than 5 pages of
supporting CBI documentation. Any information that is attached to the rebuttal/surrebuttal
forms rather than submitted in the manner specified above will be made public.
c) If you do not file a public version of the CBI, Commerce will not consider your request to
be properly submitted and will exclude it from the analysis.

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MY DASHBOARD

VIEWING MY DASHBOARD

The user dashboard tracks the filings of individual user login profiles. Here, users will be able to
view only exclusion requests, objection filings, objection rebuttals, and surrebuttals they have
filed, even before they have been posted publicly. ‘My Dashboard’ allows users to verify their
filings based on various criteria including ID, company, product, HTSUS code, status, days
remaining, and posted date.
STEP 1: NAVIGATE TO MY DASHB OARD

1a. After a successful login, users can navigate to My Dashboard anytime by selecting ‘My
Dashboard’.

1b. After selecting ‘My Dashboard’, users will be taken to the My Dashboard page.

USING MY DASHBOARD
STEP 1: VIEW EXCLUSION REQUE ST FILINGS

1a. For a user to view any of their submitted exclusion request filings, select ‘Exclusion
Requests’.

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1b. After selecting the filing type, a dashboard dropdown will appear, showing any filing of that
type that a user has submitted. (Note: if a user has not filed any exclusion requests, no
documents will appear in the dashboard dropdown for that respective filing type.)

1c. Under the ‘Exclusion Requests’ dashboard dropdown, the ‘Status’ column will only show a
status if the request has been posted, rejected, or withdrawn.
1d. To view the actual requests, select ‘Details’ for the request you would like to view.

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STEP 2: VIEW OBJECTION FILIN GS

2a. For a user to view any of their submitted objection filings, select ‘Objection Filings’.

2b. After selecting the filing type, a dashboard dropdown will appear, showing any filing of that
type that a user has submitted. (Note: if a user has not filed any objection filings, no documents
will appear in the dashboard dropdown for that respective filing type.)

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1c. Under the ‘Objection Filings’ dashboard dropdown, the ‘ERID’ column will show the
exclusion request ID number that the objection filing is linked to, with a link to that request.

1d. To view the actual objection, select ‘Details’ for the objection filing you would like to view.

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STEP 3: VIEW OBJECTION REBUTTALS FILINGS

2a. For a user to view any of their submitted objection rebuttal filings, select ‘Objection
Rebuttals’.

2b. After selecting the filing type, a dashboard dropdown will appear, showing any filing of that
type that a user has submitted. (Note: if a user has not filed any objection rebuttal filings, no
documents will appear in the dashboard dropdown for that respective filing type.)

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1c. Under the ‘Objection Rebuttals’ dashboard dropdown, the ‘ERID’ and ‘OFID’ columns will
show the exclusion request ID number and objection filing ID number that the objection
rebuttal is linked to, with links to those filings.

1d. To view the actual objection rebuttal, select ‘Details’ for the objection rebuttal filing you
would like to view.

STEP 4: VIEW SURREBUTTALS FILINGS

2a. For a user to view any of their submitted surrebuttal filings, select ‘Surrebuttals’.

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2b. After selecting the filing type, a dashboard dropdown will appear, showing any filing of that
type that a user has submitted. (Note: if a user has not filed any surrebuttal filings, no
documents will appear in the dashboard dropdown for that respective filing type.)

1c. Under the ‘Surrebuttals’ dashboard dropdown, the ‘ERID’, ‘OFID’, and ‘ORID’ columns will
show the exclusion request ID number, the objection filing ID number, and objection rebuttal ID
number that the surrebuttal is linked to, with links to those filings.

1d. To view the actual surrebuttal, select ‘Details’ for the surrebuttal filing you would like to
view.
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APPENDIX

USING AUTOFILL EXTENTSIONS ON YOUR BROWSER

The following instructions explain how to enable the ‘Autofill’ feature on your Chrome browser.

The autofill option found in web browsers allows you to fill out commonly entered information
in a web form. This information is only remembered on your computer and will only be autofilled in forms if your browser settings permit it.
Different browsers offer different types of ‘Autofill’ features or extensions. The following
instructions explain how to download and install the ‘Autofill’ feature on Chrome.

STEP 1: DOWNLOAD AUTOFILL

1a. Go to Chrome Web Store and search for “Autofill”

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1b. Under Extensions, select Autofill:

1c. Click on the blue box where it says “Add to Chrome”

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1d. Verify the Autofill extension has been added to your browser by finding the following logo
on your Chrome menu:

STEP 2: GENERATE AUTO FILL RULES

2a. Go to the 232 Portal and choose the form you want to file (Exclusion Request; Objection
request, rebuttals, and surrebuttals.)
2b. Complete filling out all steps of the form. In this example, we will use an Exclusion Request
form:

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2b. After completing the form, click on the ‘Autofill’ logo on the Chrome menu, located on the
right-hand upper corner of your browser.

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2d. Create a New Profile by selecting ‘New’ from the dropdown menu on 2) Choose a Profile:

2e. Save New Profile name. For example: “RTO Steel – Exclusion Request” and click OK.

2f. Click on ‘Generate Autofill Rules’. You will see a confirmation message that reads “Done!”

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Now that you have created an Autofill Profile, you can use this profile to auto-populate other
Exclusion Request forms.
STEP 3: USING AN AUTOFILL PROFILE TO FIL L IN FIELDS AUTOMATICALLY

3a. Create a new submission form. In this example, an Exclusion Request. First, on the main
page select ‘Create New Exclusion Request’ icon.

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The fields on the form will automatically populate with the data from the profile selected.

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Step 2 through 5 of the form will be auto-filled too.

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EXPORTING AUTOFILL RULES FROM AN AUTOFILL PRO FILE

Step 1: On your Chrome bar menu, Right-click on ‘Autofill’ logo and click on Options

1a. The following window will be displayed:

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1b. Click the “Import/Export” tab.
1c. To Export the current settings to a CSV file, click Export.

1d. Copy the generated data, paste it into a text editor, and save the file with extension .csv.

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IMPORTING AUTOFILL R ULES INTO AN AUTOFILL PROFILE

Step 1: On your Chrome bar menu, Right-click on ‘Autofill’ logo and click on Options

1a. The following window will be displayed:

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1b. Click the “Import/Export” tab and paste your desired data on the blank space.
For example:

Make sure to select ‘Append’ so you do not replace current rules or profiles you have saved on
your Autofill account.

Once you are done, do not forget to save the changes you made by clicking back on “Form
Fields”

You are now ready to test it out by filling out an Exclusion Request form. If the extension is
working properly, you will immediately notice the changes. Each field where you have set a
predefined value will be automatically filled out on page load.

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MANUAL MODE
To trigger Autofill only when you select a profile, you must turn on Manual mode and save
your Autofill settings.
1a. Right-click anywhere on your Chrome browser and Select Autofill, then click on Autofill
Options.

1b. Go to ‘Other Stuff’ on the Autofill Options bar and check the ‘Manual mode’ box.

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EXTRACTING DATA FROM PORTAL
The following instructions explain how to use the Application Programming Interface (API)
feature to extract data from the portal.
The API allows you to download every field from each kind of filing into an excel document. The
data extract only provides data on posted filings.
STEP 1: LOAD DATA IN EXCEL

1a. Open Excel.
1b. Select the ‘Data’ tab.

1c. Select ‘From Web’.

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1d. After selecting ‘From Web’, you will be prompted to enter a URL. Enter
https://ita232webapp-staging.azurewebsites.net/api/DataExtract/GetAllExclusionRequests into
the space provided, and select ‘OK’.

1e. After the connection is established, you will be prompted by another screen. Select ‘Edit’ in
the bottom right-hand corner of the new screen.

1f. Another screen will open. On the right-hand side of the screen, under ‘APPLIED STEPS’,
double-click ‘Source’.

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1g. Another screen will open. Select the drop-down arrow under ‘Open file as’, choose ‘Json’,
and then select ‘OK’.

1h. A list of ‘Queries’ will appear.

1i. Select ‘List’ for the type of filing data you would like to extract.
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i.
ii.
iii.
iv.

‘List’ in the same row as “exclusionRequests” will provide the data extract for all of
the posted Exclusion Requests.
‘List’ in the same row as “objectionFilings” will provide the data extract for all of the
posted Objection Filings.
‘List’ in the same row as “objectionRebuttals” will provide the data extract for all the
posted Objection Rebuttals.
‘List’ in the same row as “surrebuttals” will provide the data extract for all the
posted Surrebuttals.

1j. After selecting the ‘List’ for the type of filing data you would like to extract, another
‘Queries’ list will appear.

1k. Select ‘To Table’.

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1l. Another screen will appear. Select ‘OK’.

1m. Select

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1n. Select ‘OK’.

1o. Select ‘Close & Load’.

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All data for the ‘List’ you chose (exclusion request, objection filing, objection rebuttal, or
surrebuttal) will now appear. All fields from each of the form types are provided in the column
titled ‘Column1.jsonData’.

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File Type	application/pdf
File Title	232 EXCLUSION PORTAL: EXTERNAL USER GUIDE
Author	Leo Ayala
File Modified	2019-05-31
File Created	2019-05-31