On March 1, 2024, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) to explore national security risks posed by connected vehicles (CVs) that incorporate Information and Communications Technology and Services (ICTS) from “foreign adversaries,” including China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The initiative
Auto Industry
Following U.S. Lead, Canada Announces New Tariffs on Chinese EVs, Steel and Aluminum
On August 26, 2024, the Department of Finance Canada announced the country would introduce a 100% tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs) and a 25% tariff on certain Chinese steel and aluminum products. The press release, citing “unfair, non-market policies and practices” by China coupled with a “lack of rigorous labour and environmental standards,” thus…
United States and Mexico Act to Protect North American Steel and Aluminum Markets from Unfair Trade
On July 10, 2024, the United States and Mexico jointly announced measures to protect the North American steel and aluminum markets from unfair trade. Both countries will implement policies to prevent tariff evasion on steel and aluminum and undertake efforts to strengthen North American steel and aluminum supply chains. These efforts are intended to prevent…
Panel Concludes Automakers May Continue Core Parts “Roll-up” to Meet USMCA’s RVC Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Requirements
A United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) Chapter 31 Dispute Resolution Panel concluded that automakers may continue to use the longstanding practice of “roll-up” when calculating the percentage of North American-originating materials used in the production of core automotive parts (e.g., engines) that is subsequently factored into the computation for determining the total amount of originating content…
Russia Sanctions Disrupt Automotive Supply Chains and Production
As of February 22, 2022, President Biden and the Departments of State, Commerce and the Treasury have implemented an array of sanctions and export controls severely restricting international trade and financing involving Russia, Ukraine and Belarus in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. These have been primarily imposed and implemented pursuant to executive orders,…
President Biden Invokes Defense Production Act for Development of Critical Materials in Large-Capacity Batteries
On March 31, 2022, President Joseph Biden issued Presidential Determination No. 2022-11 invoking the Defense Production Act of 1950 (DPA) to ensure a sufficient and sustainable domestic industrial base for the production of large-capacity batteries. Stating that the United States “depends on unreliable foreign sources for many of the strategic and critical materials necessary for…
Vehicle Producer “Alternative Staging Regime” Petitions for Compliance with USMCA Rules of Origin Due July 1
In an April 21, 2020, Federal Register notice, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced procedures for North American producers of passenger vehicles or light trucks to submit petitions requesting an alternative staging regime: An interested vehicle producer must submit a petition with a draft alternative staging plan no later than July…
Congressional Democrats Demand Release of Section 232 Report on Automobiles and Auto Parts
In a February 13, 2020 letter to President Donald Trump, members of the New Democrat Coalition (NDC), a group of Congressional Democrats generally supportive of free trade, demanded that the final Section 232 report on automobiles and auto parts submitted to the president in February 2019 be released. Referencing provisions in the Consolidated Appropriations Act…
Department of Justice Opines that Commerce Does Not Have to Release Section 232 Report on Imports of Automobiles and Automotive Parts
In a Memorandum Opinion for the Deputy Counsel to President Donald Trump, the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel (DOJ) determined that “the President may direct the Secretary of Commerce not to publish a confidential report to the President under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, notwithstanding a recently enacted statute…
President Trump Delays Implementation of Section 232 Tariffs on Imports of Automobiles and Automobile Parts
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…