President Donald Trump today announced that his administration would delay for six months any action on the determination of the Department of Commerce (Commerce) in the Section 232 national security investigation into imports of automobiles and automobile parts. This investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 was self-initiated by Commerce in
Section 232 Investigations
WTO Dispute Settlement Panel’s Decision to Rule on National Security Exception May Have a Major Impact on Trump Administration’s Section 232 Tariffs
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A World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement panel ruling, Russia – Measures Concerning Traffic in Transit, issued last week on a member’s use of the WTO’s so-called “national security exception” under Article XXI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) may have a significant impact on the Trump administration’s application of…
U.S. Court of International Trade Upholds Constitutionality of the President’s Power to Implement Steel Tariffs under Section 232
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On March 25, 2019, the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) denied a challenge to the constitutionality of Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 in a lawsuit brought by the American Institute of International Steel and other steel importers. In a 2-1 decision, the three-judge panel in American Institute for International…
Mexico Prepares Additional Retaliatory Tariffs on U.S. Products
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On March 6, 2019, during a meeting of the Foreign Trade Commission of the Mexican Senate, Luz Maria de la Mora-Sanchez, Foreign Trade Undersecretary of Mexico’s Ministry of Economy, announced that the Mexican government is planning to include additional items on its list of U.S. products subject to retaliatory measures, which were originally imposed on…
U.S. Department of Commerce Initiates Section 232 Investigation into Titanium Sponge
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On September 27, 2018, Titanium Metals Corporation (TIMET) filed a Section 232 petition alleging that the quantity or circumstances of U.S. titanium sponge imports threaten to impair national security. On March 4, 2019, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced that the petition had been accepted and an investigation initiated. Ross sent a letter to Acting…
USTR Lighthizer Testifies Before House Ways & Means Committee on U.S.-China Trade
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On February 27, 2019, Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), testified before the House Ways & Means Committee on U.S.-China trade relations. In his brief opening statement, the ambassador stated that the United States “can compete with anyone in the world but we must have rules – enforced rules – that make sure…
Consolidated Appropriations Act for Funding the Government Includes Requirements for Sections 232 and 301 Tariff Exclusion Processes
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On February 15, 2019, President Trump signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 (Act) that fully funds the government for the remainder of the fiscal year ending on September 30, 2019. With Congress and the president agreeing on these appropriations, a second partial government shutdown was averted. Included in the Act is a provision authorizing additional…
Congressional Research Service Releases Overview Report on International Trade and Finance Issues for 116th Congress
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The Congressional Research Service (CRS), a nonpartisan staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress, has released an overview report, International Trade and Finance: Overview and Issues for the 116th Congress, in which it offers a brief review of President Donald Trump’s first two years in office and policy issues that the new 116th…
Additional Legislation Introduced in Congress Seeks to Curtail Executive Branch’s Authority to Implement Section 232 Tariffs
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As reported in our post of January 25, 2019, members of the 116th session of Congress are seeking ways to address President Donald Trump’s authority to unilaterally impose tariffs under various statutes. This trend continued on January 30, 2019, with the bipartisan introduction of the Bicameral Congressional Trade Authority Act. Introduced by Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Pat Toomey (R-PA), this bill would restore to Congress its Article I constitutional authority over foreign trade and commerce, specifically focusing on tariffs implemented under the claim of “national security.” The senators stated that recent Trump administration Section 232 actions have been economically disruptive and have damaged U.S. relationships with its allies, including Mexico, Canada, Japan, the EU and India.
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2018 Year in Review – Overview of President Trump’s Major Trade Actions
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International trade and international trade disputes were a predominant focus of President Trump and his trade officials throughout 2018. Thompson Hine’s Trump and Trade team has prepared a slide presentation to provide our readers with a broad overview of the most significant trade actions taken by the Trump administration last year. From the renegotiation of…