Trump Orders Truck Import Probe, Setting Stage for Tariffs
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President Donald Trump’s administration started an investigation into the need for tariffs on imports of medium- and heavy-duty trucks and parts, an expansion of his trade war that has hit hundreds of nations and sectors.
The Commerce Department will probe the national security risks stemming from a “small number” of foreign suppliers that it says have dominated U.S. imports in part due to government subsidies and “predatory trade practices,” according to a Federal Register notice.
Officials will examine if domestic producers can meet U.S. demand and the potential for foreign nations to “weaponize their control over supplies of trucks and truck parts” by using export restrictions, the notice said.
Trucks weighing more than 10,000 pounds, as well as parts and derivatives, will be subject to the investigation. Those are vehicles meant to haul goods across North America, not lighter pickups popular with consumers.
Separately, Trump has imposed 25% tariffs on automobile imports and duties on car and light truck parts that are intended to go into place no later than May 3. The administration is considering reducing parts tariffs by exempting them from separate tariffs on China tied to fentanyl production and metals, according to the Financial Times.
The truck probe, which the department said began on April 22, joins other trade investigations covering copper, lumber, semiconductors, critical minerals and pharmaceuticals. The investigations are proceeding under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, which generally produce findings within 270 days, though the Trump administration has moved to execute trade actions faster.
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The investigation raises the specter of new levies on the vehicles — or their component parts — that could heighten some costs for large fleet owners, and, potentially, commercial shipping across the U.S. The U.S. Trade Representative has already advanced a plan for a fee on Chinese-built and -owned ships docking in the U.S., following a trade investigation ordered under former President Joe Biden.
Trump’s administration has increasingly turned to Section 232 as the legal basis for possible import taxes on key sectors. That can result in levies that endure across multiple presidencies, as compared to Trump’s so-called “reciprocal” tariffs he imposed using emergency powers.
