Remarks on Signing Proclamations on Adjusting Imports of Aluminum and Steel Into the United States and an Exchange With Reporters
Issued 2018-03-08 by Donald J. Trump
Plain-English Overview
AI-generated summary explaining what this action does, who it affects, and why it matters
On March 8, 2018, President Trump signed proclamations imposing new tariffs on imported steel and aluminum coming into the United States. The action placed a 25-percent tariff on foreign steel and a 10-percent tariff on foreign aluminum. Products made in the U.S.A. would not be subject to these new taxes. The President stated that companies could avoid the tariff by bringing their manufacturing plants to the United States.
The tariffs were based on a 9-month investigation by the Department of Commerce examining the steel and aluminum industry. President Trump stated that foreign countries had been engaged in unfair trade practices for decades, including a process called "dumping," which involved flooding world markets with cheap, government-subsidized metal. He said this had led to closed plants and mills in America and the loss of millions of workers' jobs.
The President justified the action on national security grounds, stating that a strong steel and aluminum industry is vital to national security because these materials are needed to build ships, planes, and military equipment. The constitutional authority for such tariffs involves delegated power from Congress to the President, though the scope of that delegation when affecting large amounts of commerce can raise separation of powers questions.
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Constitutional Analysis
How this action fits (or doesn't) within Article II authority and existing law
This proclamation ("Remarks on Signing Proclamations on Adjusting Imports of Aluminum and Steel Into the United States and an Exchange With Reporters") imposes or modifies tariffs on Signing Proclamations on Adjusting. The stated rationale is: "and build our steel and aluminum industries, while at the same time showing great flexibility and cooperation toward those that are really friends of ours, both on a trade basis and a military basis." Under Article I, Section 8, Congress holds the power to "regulate Commerce with foreign Nations" and to "lay and collect Duties." However, Congress has delegated significant tariff authority to the President through statutes like Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act (national security tariffs) and Section 301 of the Trade Act (unfair trade practices).
The constitutional question is the scope of that delegation. Courts have historically upheld broad presidential trade actions under these statutes. But sweeping tariff measures that effectively rewrite trade policy — affecting billions in commerce — raise non-delegation doctrine concerns. When the executive branch makes economic policy of this magnitude unilaterally, it sits at the edge of the separation of powers.
Official Summary
Administration of Donald J. Trump, 2018 Remarks on Signing Proclamations on Adjusting Imports of Aluminum and Steel Into the United States and an Exchange With Reporters March 8, 2018 The President. Well, thank you very much, everybody. I'm honored to be here with our incredible steel and aluminum workers, and you are truly the backbone of America. You know that. Very special people. I've known you and people that are very closely related to you for a long time. You know that. I think it's probably the reason I'm here. So I want to thank you. I also want to thank Secretary Mnuchin, Ambassador Lighthizer, Secretary Ross, Peter Navarro, Mike Pence, our great Vice President. They've worked so hard on getting this going and getting it done. And people are starting to realize how important it is. We have to protect and build our steel and aluminum industries, while at the same time showing great flexibility and cooperation toward those that are really friends of ours, both on a trade basis and a military basis. A strong steel and aluminum industry are vital to our national security. Absolutely vital. Steel is steel. You don't have steel, you don't have a country. Our industries have been targeted for years and years—decades, in fact—by unfair foreign trade practices leading