On May 4, 2020, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced he will initiate an investigation into whether laminations for stacked cores for incorporation into transformers, stacked and wound cores for incorporation into transformers, electrical transformers, and transformer regulators are being imported into the United States in such quantities or under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security. The decision to launch an investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended, follows inquiries and requests from multiple members of Congress as well as industry stakeholders. As required by law, Secretary Ross will send a letter to Secretary of Defense Mark Esper informing him of the investigation. Secretary Ross will also notify other relevant executive branch officials.
On May 19, 2020, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published in the Federal Register a notice and request for public comments [Docket No. BIS-2020-0015] in connection with an investigation to determine the effects on national security of imports of Laminations for Stacked Cores for Incorporation into Transformers, Stacked Cores for Incorporation into Transformers, Wound Cores for Incorporation into Transformers, Electrical Transformers, and Transformer Regulators that was initiated by the Secretary of Commerce (the “Secretary”) on May 11, 2020, based on inquiries and requests from interested parties in the United States, including multiple Members of Congress, a Grain-Oriented Electrical Steel (GOES) manufacturer, and producers of Power and Distribution Transformers.
Interested parties are invited to submit written comments, data, analyses, or other information pertinent to the investigation to BIS by June 9, 2020. Rebuttal comments will be due by June 19, 2020. While Commerce is interested in any information related to this investigation that the public can provide, this notice identifies particular issues of significance. All written comments on the notice must be addressed to Section 232 Electrical Steel Investigation and filed through the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov .
