New Delhi, April 3 -- The Trump administration is changing how it assesses tariffs on imported steel, aluminum, copper, and products containing those metals in order to simplify the process.

Thursday's changes were announced on the one-year anniversary of President Donald Trump's so-called "Liberation Day," when he unveiled "reciprocal tariffs" on imports from around the world. These metals tariffs, however, were placed under a different law, Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.

Policy experts said the latest changes are likely in response to the pushback from U.S. importers and foreign trading partners that the administration has received over its tariffs, and evidence that the promises Trump made last April did not material...