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August 9, 2020
Leibowitz on Trade: Section 232 in the News
Written by Lewis Leibowitz
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington:
Section 232 is in the news again this week. First, President Trump issued a new proclamation reimposing 10 percent aluminum tariffs on certain aluminum imports from Canada. Second, there were reports in the media that the president will soon announce tariffs on steel imports from Canada and Mexico, despite the absence of evidence that there is a new threat to national security from steel imports from our neighbor to the North. Third, there are persistent reports that the administration may soon unilaterally reduce the quotas for imports of semifinished steel from Brazil. Fourth, a new opinion issued from the Court of International Trade last week expressed grave doubts that the denials of exclusion requests for semifinished steel were lawful. And fifth, new steel company reports strongly indicate that the protective tariffs have not increased the prospects of steel or aluminum producers in the United States. The outlook for Section 232 as an effective policy tool seems to be slipping badly. Despite this record, the president is doubling down on Section 232.
