Since taking office in January, President Trump has taken a number of actions under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (“Section 232”), a statute that authorizes the President to “adjust” imports—including through application of tariffs, quotas, tariff rate quotas, and license fees—where the Department of Commerce (“Commerce”) determines imports threaten to impair U.S. national security. To date, President Trump has invoked Section 232 to impose or modify tariffs on U.S. imports of steel and aluminum, as well as imports of autos and auto parts. The Trump administration has also initiated nine other Section 232 investigations affecting several other sectors since January, and the President has publicly announced that new Section 232 tariffs will be imposed on copper imports effective August 1, with additional Section 232 tariff announcements likely in the coming weeks. This alert provides an overview of the Section 232 actions taken by the Trump administration since January and potential timelines for imposition of future Section 232 tariffs on a range of imports.
Click here to read the full alert on cov.com.