Trump’s 25% Tariff on Steel Imports Survives Statutory Challenge

US importers failed to show that the decision by former president Donald Trump to impose a 25% tariff on steel imports in the name of national security violated the Trade Expansion Act, the Federal Circuit said Thursday.

Under the statute, if the secretary of commerce determines that an article is being imported into the US in such quantities or circumstances that they threaten national security, and the president agrees with that conclusion, the president may “determine the nature and duration of the action” needed to adjust the imports so they will no longer be a threat.

In 2018, the secretary ...