Trump Widens 232s to Put Tariffs on Consumer Goods: Supply Lines

With President Donald Trump’s universal tariffs possibly headed for a Supreme Court showdown, his administration is pressing ahead with another strategy that could hit an equally broad swath of imports.

The US Commerce Department is set within weeks to announce the outcomes of its investigations into sectors deemed vital to national security, including semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and critical minerals. Trump will do so under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, which he’s already invoked to put tariffs on autos, steel and aluminum.

Trump recently broadened the target for those metals tariffs to include not just raw materials but consumer products that ...