On May 23, 2018, the Secretary of Commerce initiated an investigation to determine the effects on the national security of imports of automobiles, including cars, SUVs, vans and light trucks, and automotive parts. This investigation has been initiated under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended.

On May 30, 2018, the Department of Commerce (Commerce) published in the Federal Register details on the public hearing, scheduled for July 19-20, as well as the schedule for commenting and submitting rebuttal comments.

Interested parties are invited to submit written comments, data, analyses, or other information pertinent to the investigation to the Department of Commerce by June 22, 2018. Rebuttals to those comments are due by July 6, 2018.

June 22 is also the deadline for requesting to appear at the public hearing and for submissions of a summary of expected testimony.

Commerce will hold a public hearing on the investigation on July 19 and 20, 2018 in Washington, DC. The notice identifies the issues on which the Department is interested in obtaining the public’s views and discusses the procedures for public participation in the hearing.

Per the notice, Commerce is particularly interested in the following criteria as they affect national security:

 

 

  • The quantity and nature of imports of automobiles, including cars, SUVs, vans and light trucks, and automotive parts and other circumstances related to the importation of automobiles and automotive parts;
  • Domestic production needed for projected national defense requirements;
  • Domestic production and productive capacity needed for automobiles and automotive parts to meet projected national defense requirements;
  • The existing and anticipated availability of human resources, products, raw materials, production equipment, and facilities to produce automobiles and automotive parts;
  • The growth requirements of the automobiles and automotive parts industry to meet national defense requirements and/or requirements to assure such growth, particularly with respect to investment and research and development;
  • The impact of foreign competition on the economic welfare of the U.S. automobiles and automotive parts industry;
  • The displacement of any domestic automobiles and automotive parts causing substantial unemployment, decrease in the revenues of government, loss of investment or specialized skills and productive capacity, or other serious effects;
  • Relevant factors that are causing or will cause a weakening of our national economy;
  • The extent to which innovation in new automotive technologies is necessary to meet projected national defense requirements;
  • Whether and how the analysis of the above factors changes when U.S. production by majority U.S.-owned firms is considered separately from U.S. production by majority foreign-owned firms; and
  • Any other relevant factors.