In a surprise announcement after hours on Friday January 24, 2020, the White House announced that it plans to impose an additional 25 percent tariff on some steel articles and 10 percent on some aluminum articles starting February 8, 2020 under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. A proclamation issued by the
As we kick off a new year, Husch Blackwell’s International Trade and Supply Chain team offers an analysis of events that shaped the international trade landscape in 2019 as well as insight into what international trade issues are on the horizon in 2020 in a recently published white paper.
The “International Trade Law: 2019
President Trump unexpectedly announced via Twitter on Monday, December 02, 2019 that the 25% Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs that were enforced globally in 2018 would be reinstated on imports from Argentina and Brazil, claiming that a “massive devaluation” of the countries’ currencies has given them an unfair trade advantage. Like Canada and Mexico,
On Friday evening, July 13, 2019, President Trump declared that U.S. imports of uranium do not pose a national security threat under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.
On May 17, 2019, after numerous rounds of negotiations, the United States, Canada, and Mexico issued formal statements on lifting duties on Section 232 steel and aluminum products. While Canada and the U.S. explicitly stated that their respective tariffs would be lifted within the next two days, Mexico has yet to announce how quickly their retaliatory tariffs would end.
On May 17, 2019, the White House issued a proclamation delaying the immediate institution of special additional tariffs on the imports of automobiles and automobile parts into the U.S.
On May 16, 2019, the President announced that he would be terminating Turkey’s status as a beneficiary of specialized treatment pursuant to the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences program (GSP).
On March 25, 2019, the Court of International Trade issued its decision in the American Institute for International Steel’s appeal on the institution of Section 232 tariffs on steel products. The CIT found that the Section 232 tariffs were constitutional and thus this decision results in the continuation of these tariffs for the foreseeable future.
On March 4, 2019, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced that it would be conducting a Section 232 investigation on imports of titanium sponge. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross stated that the investigation will be looking into whether or not the “quantity or circumstances” of the imports are a threat to national security.
On Sunday, February 17, 2019, the U.S. Department of Commerce reportedly submitted its report to the President following its investigation into whether imported cars and parts pose a threat to national security under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. This investigation was initiated in May 2018 at President Trump’s request. The report has not been released to the public yet. The administration is required to release any part of the report that does not contain classified information in the Federal Register.