US court defends Trump hike in steel tariffs from Turkey

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled on July 13 that former President Donald Trump was entitled to double the tariff on Turkish steel imports from 25% to 50% under section 232, thereby overturning a 2019 U.S. Court of International Trade decision that to such actions.

The court said Trump acted within the president's authoritative parameters, adhering to the national security provisions set out in Article 232, and did not need to initiate a new investigation to justify the tariff hike for Turkey.

“The president did not deviate from the [US Commerce Department’s] secretary’s conclusion about a threat to national security; indeed, the president adhered specifically to the secretary’s main conclusion on the target utilization rate, which was the rationale for detecting a predicate threat,” the court file said.

“Moreover, the President has determined that additional import restrictions are needed to achieve this level in the short period after the secretary's discovery and after the initial presidential action, and that the initial presidential measures (in March 2018) themselves announced a continuation of the course of action. this could include adjustments over time. "

The court said that its decision applies exclusively to Trump's actions against Turkey, which is among the main steel exporters to the United States.

"We are oblivious to other circumstances that could cause other problems with the presidency to correct the original actions taken without providing a new report with new threats from the secretary."

Trump imposed a 25% steel tariff and a 10% aluminum tariff on metal imports from most countries under section 232 in March 2018. The tariff was introduced after a Commerce investigation found that the sharp rise in steel and aluminum imports posed a threat to national security.

Steel tariffs were increased to 50% only on imports from Turkey from August 2018 to May 2019.

Acting as plaintiffs, US steel importer Transpacific Steel and a group of Turkish steelmakers challenged Trump's CPT action in January 2019 and received a favorable ruling.