Steel Products

Commerce Submits Section 232 Report to President

January 12, 2018

The Section 232 report on the effect of steel mill product imports on U.S. national security was submitted to President Trump by Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross late on Thursday, Jan. 11. The president now has 90 days to take action.

Details of the report have not been released. In its announcement, the Commerce Department said a summary will be published in the Federal Register after the president makes a decision. Any confidential business or classified material will be removed from the report before it is made available to the public.

The American Iron and Steel Institute and the Steel Manufacturers Association applauded the submission.

“The steel industry welcomes the news that the Secretary of Commerce has formally submitted his report to the president in the Section 232 investigation into the impact of steel imports on the national security,” wrote AISI president Thomas Gibson in a statement. “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.”

SMA President Philip Bell wrote, “Although the report is not yet public, we believe that the investigation findings will confirm what domestic steelmakers already know. Imports of certain steel products to the United States should be restricted on national security grounds. The president now has 90 days to determine what actions and remedies will be taken to deal with this existential threat.

“We are confident that President Trump takes actions and proposes remedies that are broad, meaningful and impactful. That is the only way we can begin to significantly reduce the many tons of illegally and unfairly imported steel that finds its way to our shores,” Bell added.

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