Commerce Sends Report on Potential Section 232 Steel Import Restrictions to President
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Jan. 11 “formally submitted” the results of its Section 232 investigation on the national security effects of steel imports to President Donald Trump, Commerce said in a press release. The Trump administration now has 90 days to decide on any potential action based on the investigation’s findings, the agency said. After that decision is announced, Commerce will publish a summary of the report in the Federal Register and release a public version of the report, it said.
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The American Iron and Steel Institute praised the news of the report’s submission, in a statement issued Jan. 12. “We are confident that we have made the case that the repeated surges in steel imports in recent years threaten to impair our national security and we look forward to the president’s decision on the appropriate actions to address this critical situation,” it said.
The United Steelworkers Union was less sanguine, criticizing the “further administration delay” in addressing steel imports. "We're dismayed that the report took so long to produce and that we still have to wait for a decision,” the labor union said. “It is obvious that our nation's steel sector has been under attack by unfair foreign trade and that the sector is vital to our national security. The current surge in imports – more than 20 percent – is the result of countries taking advantage of our market before the President acts.” At the beginning of the investigation in April 2017, Trump said he expected Commerce’s report within 30-50 days of initiation (see 1704200029).