The implementation of tariffs and quotas against US steel and aluminium imports has been heralded and criticized as an unusual trade remedy, with President Donald Trump's administration applying blanket duties rather than more focused - and more typical - anti-dumping and countervailing margins.
Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, a cold-war era law, allows the president to place restrictions on imports on national security grounds. That approach arguably has not been taken since 1986, according to the Congressional Research Service. Notably, however, some sources told Fastmarkets AMM that former President Barack Obama considered using 232 to prop up the aluminium market in 2015.As of March 23, it has been a full year since the tariffs were first implemented. On the first anniversary of the 232 duties, Fastmarkets AMM takes a look at legal challenges at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and in the US court system, as well as legislation that has been introduced to restrict or revise Section 232.WTO impasse WTO suits Nine countries and regions - including China, India, the European Union, Canada, Mexico, Norway, Russia, Switzerland and Turkey - have gone to the WTO to challenge the national...