Trade War Risks From ‘National Security’ Tariffs
the president bares his “America First” teeth with more ferocity, advancing plans to curb steel imports in the name of “national security.”
In doing so, Mr. Trump is dusting off little-used presidential powers rooted in a claim rarely invoked in world commerce—one that has the potential to destabilize the global postwar trading regime.
.. The Bush administration weighed that question in 2001, and rejected the idea—the last time a Section 232 investigation was launched. The Commerce Department concluded at the time that only a tiny fraction of domestic steel output was needed for security-related uses, and that could be “easily satisfied…even if there were a substantial diminution of U.S. production.”.. It also noted most steel imports come from close U.S. allies, which remains true today. About 60% of steel imports last year came from Canada, Mexico, the European Union, Japan and South Korea.