A Senate letter pressing Tai to expand USTR’s exclusion process comes fast on the heels of House passage of a broad bill to compete with China economically that is silent on the exclusions issue.
Introduction
It has been almost three years since the 25% duties on steel imports and the 10% duties on aluminium imports pursuant to Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act 1962 were first imposed by Presidential Proclamation 9705 and legal challenges are proliferating and there is renewed legislative interest in Section 232 reform.(1) For those looking for any signs of a swift removal of the duties, the wait continues.
The administration s rapid decision to reinstate the Section 232 duties on aluminium imports from the United Arab Emirates within 13 days of their removal by President Trump upon leaving office shows no haste to change the status quo,(2) and the comment by the new Secretary of Commerce that the duties have been effective signals no imminent decision to change.(3) The government continues to actively defend these broad duties before the reviewing courts and at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in scores of cases questioning various aspects of their legality.
February 04, 2021
7:08 PM ET
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A U.S. Court of International Trade ruling Thursday upheld the “Section 232” national security tariffs on steel imports that were imposed by the Trump administration in 2018.
A panel of three judges at the Court of International Trade a federal court with jurisdiction over trade law disputes rejected a legal challenge from steel importer Universal Steel Products that argued former President Donald Trump lacked the authority to impose the tariffs and the legal process used was “procedurally deficient.”
The court concluded in Thursday’s ruling that the Trump administration appropriately applied Section 232 of the 1963 Trade Expansion Act, which allows the president to set import restrictions on the basis of national security.