With the Trump administration seemingly having missed the window to press ahead with auto tariffs on the EU, the White House is now pondering whether to launch a new investigation in order to give the president another year of leverage.
That’s according to Politico, citing “multiple people briefed on the issue”.
A 180-day deadline for deciding whether to move ahead with tariffs on European autos and auto parts expired this month.
Read more: Trump To Punt Again On EU Car Tariffs As Time Still Not Right To ‘Rid Fifth Avenue of Mercedes’
The probe was conducted under Section 232, the same provision the administration used to justify slapping tariffs on steel and aluminum. Now that the deadline has expired, Trump may no longer be able to lean on that to justify duties on national security grounds.
And so, naturally, he’ll give section 301 a shot, the same provision used as an excuse to hit China with tariffs on hundreds of billions in goods.
“An investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 would be potentially more sweeping and would subject numerous European industries, subsidies and other programs to scrutiny”, Politico writes, adding that “the move would also effectively terminate the national security investigation”.
Predictably, Trump isn’t even sure what he wants to go after yet.
“Those briefed on the latest matter said it wasn’t clear which EU trade policies that the administration would target in any inquiry, and whether autos are still the main target of Trump’s potential actions”, Politico goes on to say.
In other words, this is a “total witch hunt” (sorry).
Asked for comment, the Commerce department (Wilbur Ross was in charge of the 232 probe) referred questions to the USTR, which declined to confirm the reports.
A recent legal setback casts doubt on whether the White House can use the 232 judgement past the deadline. “The president’s expansive view of his power under section 232 is mistaken, and at odds with the language of the statute, its legislative history, and its purpose”, the US Court of International Trade wrote in an opinion earlier this month.
Not to be deterred, the incorrigible “tariff man” may simply turn to a 301 investigation (sharpen another pencil Bob Lighthizer).
In October, tensions between Washington and Brussels ratcheted higher when the WTO green-lighted retaliatory measures against $7.5 billion in EU goods per year in conjunction with the long-running Airbus spat. It was the largest arbitration award in WTO history (and came despite Trump’s repeated claims that the organization is “always f–ing” America).
The USTR promptly announced its intention to tax everything from French wine to cheese to whisky to olives, pork, butter and yogurt.
Europe will likely retaliate next year once a parallel dispute involving Boeing is adjudicated.
Trump is also threatening to undermine the WTO and effectively freeze its ability to operate, as part of a broader campaign to cripple multilateral institutions.
Read more: Trump Administration Threatens To Veto WTO Budget, In Potentially Serious Escalation
