TariffWolf Logo TariffWolf™

Episode 7: Section 232 Exclusions, IEEPA Refunds and Planning for Tariff Risk

Leaders Speak

Luke Engan
Speaker

Luke Engan

Partner - Gunnercooke

Luke Engan is an international trade attorney and strategic leader specializing in customs, tariffs, export controls, regulatory affairs, and trade risk management. He currently serves as a Partner at gunnercooke, advising on complex international trade and cross-border regulatory matters. Previously, he held leadership and project management roles at the U.S. Department of Commerce, overseeing large teams and high-impact regulatory initiatives. A Georgetown Law graduate with experience in antitrust and international trade law, Luke combines legal expertise, operational leadership, and analytical problem-solving to help organizations navigate complex global trade challenges.

TL;DR

Luke Engan, a partner at gunnercooke, spent 2018 to 2025 at the Commerce Department's International Trade Administration working on Section 232 steel and aluminum exclusions and foreign trade zones. He explains how the 232 tariffs and exclusions worked, how his 32-person team kept weekly deliverables on time through sudden staff changes, how importers should think about IEEPA refunds, why tariff plans need a range of outcomes, and where AI helps lawyers and where it fails.

5 Key Findings

  1. Section 232 exclusions were narrow by design

    The steel and aluminum tariffs rest on a national security finding. Until 2025, zero-tariff exclusions went to individual importers only for products no US producer made and no domestic manufacturer could object to.

  2. Policy now arrives with less warning

    Luke sees a more active trade agenda with shorter lead times and less advance communication about future tariffs. Steel and aluminum duties started at 25% and 10% and now stand at 50% for both.

  3. Agency practice is the third layer of law

    Beyond statute and regulation, agencies make decisions too granular or fast for formal rulemaking. When Luke saw a new practice on one case, he asked how it applied to the other eleven, kept them moving on his best reading and raised questions early.

  4. Model tariffs as a range, not a point

    Luke advises building financial models with a range of possible tariff rates, keeping more than one sourcing route, and getting views from several professionals, since a broker may still be used to the world before April 2025.

  5. Read IEEPA refunds through CBP's eyes

    Luke suggests importers picture CBP's own task board as it builds the CAPE refund capability in phases. Questions about importer IDs, universal injunctions and entries already past liquidation are still being worked out.

Advice to the Professional

Luke Engan From Luke Engan

When a team loses people suddenly, protect continuity first. Luke’s team stayed on schedule because everyone trained their replacement while starting a new role. He asked his predecessor to introduce him to people who did not know him, and he showed outside stakeholders a clear plan.

Use AI for routine drafting, such as producing a near-final contract, then verify every line. Never file AI output unread. Lawyers who submitted briefs citing invented cases forgot they are responsible for what they sign. The same applies to classification tools in trade compliance.

Conclusion

Luke’s time inside government gives importers a useful view of how agencies work. His advice is to plan for several tariff outcomes, consult more than one expert and keep human judgment over any AI-assisted work.