On March 1, 2018, President Trump announced his plans to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports into the United States using his authority under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. President Trump made his announcement during a meeting with executives from American steel and aluminum manufacturers. At this meeting, President Trump stated that he would be signing tariff measures of 25 percent on imports of steel and 10 percent on imports of aluminum “next week.” While press reports indicate that executives who attended the meeting have stated that President Trump told them he intended to apply these tariffs to imports from all countries, the exact details of the trade actions that will be signed by President Trump next week are still unknown. For example, there are still questions about the final list of products to be covered by these tariffs, the process for seeking an exclusion or exemption from the tariff, and whether any quota restrictions (in addition to tariffs) will be part of the remedy.

Section 232 permits the President to take action against imports that threaten to impair the national security interests of the United States. The President’s announcement followed the completion of two separate investigations by the Department of Commerce (“Commerce”), which found that the steel and aluminum industries are vital to national security and that imports of steel and aluminum threatened to impair the national security of the United States. When the findings of these reports were presented to the President, Commerce included recommended remedies for the President’s consideration.