White House Declines Section 232 Tariff on Aerospace Articles

Jul. 10, 2026
By: Austin J. Eighan

On July 9, President Trump issued a proclamation directing the U.S. Department of Commerce and U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to negotiate with trading partners instead of imposing Section 232 tariffs on commercial aircraft, jet engines, and related parts. The decision comes after Commerce completed a Section 232 investigation, determining that imports of these products pose a threat to national security.

Commerce found that the U.S. aircraft industry “is facing challenges to adequately meet economic and national security demands.” The agency tied the issues to “actions and practices of foreign countries, overreliance on foreign imports, and insufficient incentives to invest domestically.” As a result, domestic production faces “underutilization of domestic manufacturing capacity, a harmful cycle of qualified workforce decline, industry consolidation, and rising costs of production.” Commerce concluded that these factors, coupled with lower-cost foreign competition, will undermine the long-term competitiveness and resilience of the U.S. aerospace industry absent corrective action.

President Trump concurred with Commerce’s determination, recognizing that “commercial aircraft, jet engines, and associated parts are essential to the operation of key sectors of the U.S. economy that support our national security.” Citing Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended (19 U.S.C. § 1862), the proclamation outlined measures available to the President to address such a national security threat. Rather than immediately restricting imports or imposing additional tariffs, the President instructed Commerce and USTR to pursue negotiations with foreign trading partners and to report on their progress within 180 days.

Before importers in the aerospace sector who were expecting additional tariffs let out a final sigh of relief, the Administration reserved its authority to pursue additional remedies if negotiations fail to address the concerns. If your company would like support in assessing Section 232 exposure, evaluating aerospace supply chain risks, or preparing for potential trade actions as negotiations proceed, please reach out to one of our attorneys at Barnes, Richardson & Colburn.