Section 232 autos & auto-parts investigation

On May 23, 2018, the Commerce Department opened a Section 232 investigation into whether imports of automobiles and automotive parts threaten U.S. national security — the same statute used for steel and aluminum. In February 2019, Commerce delivered its (initially classified) report to the President concluding that auto imports did threaten to impair national security.

That finding could have triggered tariffs of up to 25% on cars and parts. It didn't. Instead, President Trump chose to negotiate, directing USTR to seek alternative agreements with the EU, Japan and others rather than imposing duties. No Section 232 auto tariff was collected during the first term, which is why this entry is tagged announced — the investigation happened, the legal finding was made, but the threatened tariffs never went into effect under this authority in the first term.

Why it matters: this is the clearest example on the site of a tariff power being armed but not fired. The Commerce report stayed classified until November 2021, when the Biden-era Commerce Department finally published a redacted version in the Federal Register. The Section 232 auto finding was later dusted off in the second term, when separate proclamations imposed tariffs on autos and parts starting April 2025.

Plain-English takeaway: a 2018 process concluded imported cars are a national-security risk, the first term never acted on it, and a later administration finally pulled the trigger.