Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, at the direction of President Donald Trump, has initiated an investigation to determine whether imports of automobiles, including SUVs, vans and light trucks, and automotive parts into the United States threaten to impair the national security as defined in Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. “There is evidence suggesting that, for decades, imports from abroad have eroded our domestic auto industry,” said Secretary Ross. “The Department of Commerce will conduct a thorough, fair, and transparent investigation into whether such imports are weakening our internal economy and may impair the national security.” President Trump stated that, “Core industries such as automobiles and automotive parts are critical to our strength as a Nation.”
According to Commerce, during the past 20 years, imports of passenger vehicles have grown from 32 percent of cars sold in the United States to 48 percent. From 1990 to 2017, employment in motor vehicle production in the United States declined by 22 percent. The investigation will consider whether the decline of domestic automobile and automotive parts production threatens to weaken the internal economy of the United States by potentially reducing research, development and jobs for skilled workers in connected vehicle systems, autonomous vehicles, fuel cells, electric motors and storage, advanced manufacturing processes, and other cutting-edge technologies.
A formal notice of the investigation setting forth the scope and schedule will be published in the Federal Register in the near future.