Trade Expansion Act
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The Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (, codified at ) is an American trade law. Section 232 of the act permits the president to impose tariffs based on a recommendation by the U.S. secretary of commerce if "an article is being imported into the United States in such quantities or under such circumstances as to threaten or impair the national security."Shannon Togawa Mercer & Matthew Kahn
America Trades Down: The Legal Consequences of President Trump's Tariffs
, ''Lawfare'' (March 13, 2018).
This section was used only in 1979 and 1982, and had not been invoked since the creation of the
World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...
in 1995, until
President Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 45th president from 2017 to 2021. ...
cited it on March 8, 2018, to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum.


History

In 1962, Congress granted the
president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
unprecedented authority to negotiate tariff reductions of up to 80%. It paved the way for the Kennedy Round of
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a legal agreement between many countries, whose overall purpose was to promote international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs or quotas. According to its p ...
(GATT) negotiations, concluding on June 30, 1967, the last day before expiration of the Act. On April 27, 2017,
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Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
ordered a review of the aluminum imports and threats to
national security National security, or national defence (national defense in American English), is the security and Defence (military), defence of a sovereign state, including its Citizenship, citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of ...
under the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. On March 8, 2018, President Trump signed an order to impose the tariffs on steel and aluminum under Section 232 of the act and citing "national security" grounds.Scott Horsley
Trump Formally Orders Tariffs on Steel, Aluminum Imports
, ''All Things Considered'' (March 8, 2018).
On May 23, 2018, President Trump "instructed Secretary Ross to consider initiating a Section 232 investigation into imports of automobiles, including trucks, and automotive parts to determine their effects on America's national security. Core industries such as automobiles and automotive parts are critical to our strength as a Nation."Following weeks of investigation, ''
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'' published the results in a June 18, 2018 article in which they expressed concerns about Wilbur Ross' financial conflicts, for example in regards to the Section 232 tariffs and the International Automotive Components Group, that Ross had created by "merging several formerly separate automotive interior companies". ''Forbes'' said that it was problematic that Trump's "instructions" to "Secretary Ross to consider initiating a Section 232 investigation into imports of automobiles, including trucks, and automotive parts to determine their effects on America's national security" were problematic because the U.S. imposition of "new taxes on imports of foreign cars and car parts" would "obviously...have a direct bearing on the fortunes of Ross's car parts company."
In mid-February 2019, Commerce Department secretary
Wilbur Ross Wilbur Louis Ross Jr. (born November 28, 1937) is an American businessman who served as the 39th United States Secretary of Commerce from 2017 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ross was previously cha ...
delivered a confidential report to President Trump which concluded the Department's investigation under Section 232, that there was a legal rationale for the imposition of steep tariffs on the import of foreign automobiles, as these imports—like steel and aluminum—posed a threat to U.S. national security. According to a March 20, 2019, article in ''
Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unit ...
'', the proposed tariffs could be as high as 25%.According to a March 20, 2019 article in ''
Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unit ...
'', Trump's "allies" said that he "wants to impose a "ring tax" around U.S. borders to protect the country from foreign imports."
''Politico'' also reported that as of March 20, the requests by the chair of the
Senate Finance Committee The United States Senate Committee on Finance (or, less formally, Senate Finance Committee) is a standing committee of the United States Senate. The committee concerns itself with matters relating to taxation and other revenue measures generall ...
Chuck Grassley Charles Ernest Grassley (born September 17, 1933) is an American politician serving as the president pro tempore of the United States Senate since 2025, a role he also held from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Re ...
(R-
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) to access a copy of the confidential report, had been denied. The deadline for Trump's decision on the imposition of the tariffs is in mid-May, ninety days after the report's release.


See also

* Trade Act of 1974 *
Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act The Tariff Act of 1930, also known as the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act, was a protectionist trade measure signed into law in the United States by President Herbert Hoover on June 17, 1930. Named after its chief congressional sponsors, Senator Reed ...


Notes


References


External links


Pdf of the Statute
{{US tax acts, state=expanded 1962 in American law 1962 in American politics 1962 in economic history Tariff laws in the United States 1962 in international relations Presidency of John F. Kennedy October 1962 in the United States