Federal Circuit: Tariffs on steel imports did not violate Section 232
Presidential proclamation imposing 25% tariff on imports of steel articles did not violate Section 232
Federal Circuit decision
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit today affirmed the trade court’s decision that a presidential proclamation (and successor proclamations) imposing a 25% tariff on imports of steel articles from various countries did not violate Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.
The case is: Universal Steel Products, Inc. v. United States, 2021-1726 (Fed. Cir. June 9, 2022). Read the Federal Circuit’s decision [PDF 187 KB]
Summary
Then-President Trump from March 2018 to May 2019 issued a series of proclamations, the first of which was Proclamation 9705 that imposed a 25% tariff on imports of steel articles from certain countries. The president declared in Proclamation 9705 that the tariffs were being imposed as a national security measure.
U.S. corporations that were importers of steel articles challenged the proclamation and the tariffs on steel imports as violating the statute (in part because the proclamations did not set the duration of the tariffs). The U.S. trade court concluded that Proclamation 9705 (and its subsequent modifications) did not violate Section 232 and granted the government’s motion to dismiss. Read TradeNewsFlash
The plaintiffs appealed to the Federal Circuit, which today affirmed.
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