Section 232 (Auto Industry)

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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…

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 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…

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…

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.
Continue Reading Additional Legislation Introduced in Congress Seeks to Curtail Executive Branch’s Authority to Implement Section 232 Tariffs

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…

On May 23, 2018, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced the initiation of an investigation to determine the effects on the national security of imports of automobiles – including cars, SUVs, vans and light trucks – and automotive parts. See Thompson Hine International Trade Update, dated June 1, 2018. At that time, the Department…

Key Notes:

  • On May 23, 2018, the Department of Commerce self initiated a Section 232 national security investigation concerning the imports of automobiles and automotive parts.
  • A formal docket has been opened for the submission of public comments and requests to appear at a public hearing July 19-20, 2018.
  • The Department of Commerce has 270

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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…