Section 301 Investigations

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Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross released today the Section 232 reports prepared by the Commerce Department and submitted to President Trump last month on the national security impact of U.S. imports of steel mill products and of wrought and unwrought aluminum. As expected, Commerce found that the quantities and circumstances of steel and aluminum imports “threaten to impair the national security.” The reports remain under consideration by the president. He is required to make a decision on the steel recommendations by April 11, 2018, and on the aluminum recommendations by April 19, 2018. The president can take a range of actions or no action, based on the analyses and recommendations provided in these reports.

President Trump and several Cabinet members hosted a meeting with congressional Republicans and Democrats on February 13, 2018 at the White House to discuss possible trade remedies in the Section 232 steel and aluminum investigations. The purpose of a Section 232 investigation is to determine the effect of imports on the national security of the…

As expected, the European Union, China, South Korea and Taiwan have formally requested WTO consultations with the United States over the Trump administration’s Section 201 global safeguard measures on imports of certain solar cells and washing machines. The countries requested consultations under Article 12.3 of the WTO Agreement on Safeguards, which entitles affected countries who…

In a lengthy State of the Union address, President Trump covered many issues and highlighted his administration’s achievements over the past year in claiming a “new American moment.” On international trade matters, Trump broke no new ground in reiterating his administration’s position that it will promote only “free, fair and reciprocal trade.” In his opening…

On January 19, the Department of Commerce submitted its Section 232 report to the White House on the national security implications of aluminum imports one business day ahead of its statutory deadline. The president now has 90 days from that date, January 19, to determine whether he agrees with the Commerce Department’s findings or will…

Energy Fuels Inc. and Ur-Energy Inc. (the petitioners) have jointly submitted a petition to the U.S. Department of Commerce for relief under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 from imports of uranium products from state-owned and state-subsidized enterprises in Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. According to the petition, such imports now supply nearly…

As previously detailed in our September 26 Trump and Trade Update, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) unanimously determined that crystalline silicon photovoltaic (CSPV) cells (or solar cells) were being imported into the United States in such quantities that they were causing substantial injury to the U.S. solar equipment industry. On October 31, 2017,…

In support of its preliminary determination in the antidumping duty investigation of imports of aluminum foil from the People’s Republic of China, the Department of Commerce has released a 205-page memorandum finding that China continues to be considered a nonmarket economy (NME) country in trade remedy cases because it “does not operate sufficiently on market…

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) has announced its affirmative preliminary determination in the antidumping duty (AD) investigation of imports of aluminum foil from the People’s Republic of China (China). While the preliminary antidumping duty rates, ranging from 96 percent to more than 162 percent, will not be finalized by Commerce until late February 2018, Commerce…