Filled steel containers -- Section 232 Inclusion Rebuttal Comment Template

Company: [Company legal name] Address: [Company registered address] EIN: [Federal Employer Identification Number] Primary contact: [Primary contact name], [Primary contact title] Email: [Primary contact email] · Phone: [Primary contact phone] Filed via regulations.gov Docket BIS-2026-15961 pursuant to the FR 2026-15961 public-comment framework.

HTSUS subheading: [HTSUS 8-10 digit subheading] [Detailed product description] Provide for each container type: HTSUS 8-10 digit subheading (7310 for containers under 300L; 7311 for compressed-gas cylinders and pressure vessels), container specification (DOT 3AA for high-pressure steel cylinders, DOT 3AL for aluminum, DOT 3E for low-pressure, ISO 6406 for steel-cylinder periodic inspection), rated service pressure, water-volume capacity, contained-substance and hazmat classification (UN number, PG group), container-value-as-percent-of-shipment-value ratio (typically 5-25 percent for pre-filled industrial-gas cylinders), and manufacturer's DOT-registration number. Include the DOT specification-plate rubbing or cylinder-neck stamp reference, the current 5-year or 10-year hydrostatic-test-date stamp, and the Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) number for the contained substance where applicable.

Document U.S.-based steel-container producers at the specific specification. The domestic DOT 3AA compressed-gas-cylinder manufacturing base includes Worthington Enterprises (formerly Worthington Industries pressure cylinder division), Structural Composites Industries (SCI), Faber Industrie U.S., and Norris Cylinder. For industrial drums, the domestic base includes Greif Industrial Packaging Solutions, Mauser Packaging Solutions, and Skolnik Industries. Contact each producer at the specific DOT specification, capacity, service pressure, and quantity requested. Note that the analysis must consider container-alone capacity separately from filled-container availability -- pre-filled shipment adds an industrial-gas fill and hazmat-transport dimension that most U.S. cylinder-producers do not perform. Reference U.S. Census Bureau NAICS 332420 (Metal Tank, Heavy Gauge, Manufacturing) and NAICS 332439 (Other Metal Container Manufacturing) annual production statistics.

Industrial-gas supply supports semiconductor manufacturing (helium, ultra-high-purity nitrogen and argon), pharmaceutical and biotech manufacturing (medical gases), and defense-industrial-base production (specialty gases for missile and space systems). Where pre-filled containers service Defense Logistics Agency Energy contracts, medical-oxygen distribution to Veterans Affairs facilities, or semiconductor-manufacturer supply contracts (Intel, TSMC-Arizona, Samsung-Texas, Micron, GlobalFoundries), cite the specific program or contract. For commercial-only end use, base the request on criterion (v) 'other information the commenter believes relevant' of Federal Register notice 2026-15961's public-comment invitation: pre-filled cylinder supply disruptions directly cascade into semiconductor-fab uptime, pharmaceutical-manufacturing schedule, and industrial-process supply.

[Domestic suppliers contacted with dates] Written inquiry to each U.S.-based DOT-registered cylinder and container producer identified above, at the specific DOT specification, service pressure, container capacity, and pre-fill-and-hazmat-shipment capability. For rare-gas categories (helium-3, xenon isotopes, deuterium), most domestic cylinder producers do not have current inventory of the finished filled product -- confirm this in writing. Cross-reference the Compressed Gas Association (cganet.com) member directory and the DOT PHMSA registered-cylinder-manufacturer list. 30-day minimum response window. Objectors have 30 days from posting of this rebuttal comment on regulations.gov to file counter-comments.

Quantify the 25 percent duty pass-through on [Annual customs value USD] at HTSUS [HTSUS 8-10 digit subheading] to downstream customers: industrial-gas distributors (Airgas, Linde, Air Products, Matheson), semiconductor and pharmaceutical manufacturers, welding-supply dealers, and medical-gas distributors to hospitals and long-term-care facilities. Include: (i) 12-month CBP entry records with a breakdown of container-value versus content-value; (ii) documented projection of gas-supply disruption if pre-filled cylinder acquisition is delayed; (iii) downstream cost pass-through into semiconductor-fab-output, pharmaceutical-manufacturing-output, and medical-gas-supply pricing.

The global pre-filled industrial-gas cylinder supply is concentrated in the same short list of multinational industrial-gas majors (Linde, Air Liquide, Air Products, Nippon Sanso). Alternate-country pre-filled shipments require DOT-approved-carrier logistics and IMDG (International Maritime Dangerous Goods) or IATA-DGR (International Air Transport Association Dangerous Goods Regulations) hazmat-shipping-compliance. Document contact with alternate-country producers and their DOT-approved-carrier arrangements.

1. BIS Section 232 Exclusion Portal, historical determinations addressing pre-filled cylinder categories and industrial-gas-adjacent hardware where the container is a small fraction of shipment value (searchable public docket, regulations.gov (Docket BIS-2026-15961)). 2. Commerce Department Section 232 steel report, January 11, 2018, at 45-52 (methodology for evaluating derivative-article scope where primary-metal share of finished-good value varies within a heading). 3. the public comment mechanism established by Federal Register notice 2026-15961 (August 6, 2026), operative under the notice-and-comment rulemaking framework of 5 U.S.C. § 553(c); criterion (v) 'other information the commenter believes relevant' of Federal Register notice 2026-15961's public-comment invitation (adverse-effect-on-semiconductor-and-pharmaceutical-manufacturing-supply basis). 4. Federal Register notice 2026-15961 (August 6, 2026), criteria (i) national-security-nexus and (iii) domestic-capacity. 5. 49 CFR § 178, Subpart C (Specifications for Cylinders), DOT 3AA, 3AL, 3E; 49 CFR § 180, Subpart C (Qualification, Maintenance, and Use of Cylinders); ISO 6406 (Gas cylinders - Seamless steel gas cylinders - Periodic inspection and testing); Compressed Gas Association (CGA) C-1 (Methods for Pressure Testing of Compressed Gas Cylinders). 6. U.S. Census Bureau NAICS 332420 and NAICS 332439 domestic manufacturing statistics; Compressed Gas Association (cganet.com) member directory; DOT PHMSA registered-cylinder-manufacturer list.

This public comment is submitted in opposition to the proposed Section 232 derivative-article inclusion of filled steel containers, tanks, and reservoirs (HTSUS headings 7310 and 7311) contemplated by Federal Register notice 2026-15961. [Company legal name] requests a product-specific exclusion for pre-filled industrial-grade steel containers -- including compressed-gas cylinders under HTSUS 7311 filled with industrial or medical gases at the point of import, industrial rebar drums, steel drums holding chemical or petroleum contents, and industrial pressure vessels shipped with test-charge contents -- where the container itself is a small fraction of the total shipment value and the primary-metal nexus is attenuated. Compressed-gas cylinders are DOT-specification pressure vessels (DOT 3AA, 3AL, 3E) subject to 49 CFR § 178 fabrication requirements, and pre-filled shipment is common for helium, high-purity industrial gases, and specialty chemical products with hazmat classification. We request an 18-month exclusion covering the specific HTSUS subheadings identified below. Requested transition-and-adjustment period if BIS proceeds with inclusion: [Requested transition-and-adjustment period if BIS proceeds with inclusion - typically 12 months] months.

Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1001 (false statements to a federal agency) and the identification requirements of 5 U.S.C. § 553(c), I attest that the statements in this comment are true and accurate to the best of my knowledge, and that I am authorized to submit this comment on behalf of [Company legal name]. _________________________________ [Primary contact name], [Primary contact title] [Company legal name] [Primary contact email] · [Primary contact phone] Submitted via regulations.gov Docket BIS-2026-15961: 2026-08-26 --- **Draft Status: v0 -- attorney-review-pending.** This template was auto-generated by TariffWatch from Federal Register notice 2026-15961, Presidential Proclamations 10895 and 10896 (Feb 10, 2025 -- terminating the 15 CFR § 705.5 exclusion-request process), and publicly available BIS Section 232 rulemaking materials. Not legal advice, not customs classification advice under 19 CFR 111. Consult qualified counsel or a licensed customs broker before submitting to regulations.gov Docket BIS-2026-15961. Every substantive claim in this request that is factual to your business -- HTSUS subheading, annual quantity, annual customs value, cost-impact projections, sourcing country, domestic-supplier contacts -- must be verified by the submitter before filing. TariffWatch (Digital Empire Holdings LLC) makes no representation as to the sufficiency of this request for any specific regulatory outcome.