Expected on Saturday, 18 May, the decision by U.S. President Donald Trump on the need to impose new tariffs on foreign car imports will likely be postponed by 6 months.
President Trump should declare whether he supports or disagrees with the findings of the report of the investigation into car imports under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, sent to the White House on 1 February (see EUROPE 12195/1). The conclusions of this document have not been officially disclosed, although experts and observers suspect that it establishes the 'threat to national security' of these imports, in that they harm domestic producers.
The President then has 15 days to decide on measures; he can also choose to continue negotiations with exporting countries and thus postpone his action for a maximum of 180 days.
According to the press across the Atlantic, Washington is expected to announce this week that the president is postponing this decision.
Sustained opposition
The opposition in the United States has not disarmed. Contrary to the position of the steel industry, which favours tariff sanctions on steel and aluminium, the automotive industry continues to mobilise against these measures. "The case remains clear – cars are not a national security threat", insists Auto Alliance, the leading automotive industry interest group in the United States, in a statement published on 15 May.
Earlier this week, a bipartisan group of 159 members of the House of Representatives also warned the President against tariff increases under Article 232.
Towards voluntary restrictions
The Bloomberg agency also revealed the content of a draft executive order in which President Trump would grant the European Union and Japan these 6 months to agree on an agreement limiting or restricting their exports of cars and spare parts.
However, this type of voluntary export restriction is contrary to World Trade Organization (WTO, GATT Article XI) rules. (Original version in French by Hermine Donceel)