At the end of last week, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross launched an investigation on all foreign steel imports under what is known as a Section 232 Investigation of US trade law. The next day, President Trump signed a memorandum directing Secretary Ross to conduct his investigation as quickly as possible.
This rarely-used statute based on US national security interests has only been pursued twice since the US joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995: in an investigation of crude oil in 1999, and iron and steel in 2001. In both cases, the Commerce Department recommended that the president not take action under Section 232, with the then-president concurring. The use of Section 232 has, therefore, surprised onlookers in the international trade community and raised questions of what will happen next.
At the end of last week, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross launched an investigation on all foreign steel imports under what is known as a Section 232 Investigation of US trade law. The next day, President Trump signed a memorandum directing Secretary Ross to conduct his investigation as quickly as possible.
This rarely-used statute based on US national security interests has only been pursued twice since the US joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995: in an investigation of crude oil in 1999, and iron and steel in 2001. In both cases, the Commerce Department recommended that the president not take action under Section 232, with the then-president concurring. The use of Section 232 has, therefore, surprised onlookers in the international trade community and raised questions of what will happen next.
read more at globaltrademag.com
