The Trump administration has embarked on two investigations to determine whether imports of steel and aluminum are threatening the national security of the United States, under a law that has not been used for 15 years. On April 19, 2017, the Department of Commerce initiated an investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended, to determine the effects of steel imports on national security. The following week, it initiated a similar investigation relating to the impact of aluminum imports. This post examines Section 232 investigations and the results of the 26 prior uses of the statute. The majority of the prior cases found no threat to the national security from imports. Where a threat was found to exist, the imports, with one exception (machine tools), centered on oil imports.
A 232 investigation can be initiated by the Commerce Secretary, as in the current cases, or upon the request of the head of another government agency or an application by an interested party. In conducting a 232 investigation, the most important criteria that the Commerce Department will consider include:
- The domestic production needed for projected national defense requirements;
- The capacity, and growth needs, of the domestic industry to meet those requirements;
- The existing and anticipated availabilities of related human and material resources;
- The importation of goods in terms of their quantities and use as they affect the industries;
- The close relation of the U.S.’s economic welfare to its national security; and
- Any substantial unemployment, loss of skills or investment, decrease in government revenues or other serious effects resulting from displacement of domestic products by excessive imports.
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