Trump Administration Waited Too Long to Expand Steel Tariffs

The Trump administration acted past the legal deadline when it expanded its “national security” tariffs on imported steel goods, the U.S. Court of International Trade said Monday.

President Donald Trump invoked Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from around the world in 2018, saying the threat these imports posed to U.S. producers constituted a national security issue.

In 2020, Trump issued Proclamation 9980, expanding the scope of the duties to downstream steel and aluminum products like nails, staples, electrical wires, and motor vehicle parts.

A number of companies sued, including ...