Legal Analysis Of 232 Investigation In The United States And China’s Response

In April 2017,President Trump instructed the US Department of Commerce to launch a plan based on the 1962 Trade Expansion Act of 1962 on whether foreign imports would jeopardize the long-term health of the US steel and aluminum industry."232 investigation."(hereinafter refer to "232 investigation")In addition to investigating whether it threatens or damages national security,the US Department of Commerce also revealed that imported steel and aluminum products threaten national security,and suggested that the president adopt adjustment measures such as additional taxes,import quotas,or import bans.The reason behind the US President’s announcement is self-evident.It has long pointed to the overcapacity of global steel and aluminum production in China,which is believed to be caused by overcapacity of domestic steel and aluminum and other metal products.As is well known,the "Article232" in the legal norms is the US domestic trade law clause,does not belong to international law,and does not have the power to adjust international trade.Therefore,the "232 investigation" made by the United States in April 2017 is actually an illegal act that applies the US intra-regional law to extraterritorial purposes.In response,the US government insists that the "232 investigation" is a necessary measure to protect national security in accordance with the conditions of the "security exception" clause of Article 21 of the GATT.However,many WTO members,including China and the EU,believe that the United States is in violation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade(GATT 1994)and the protection of the high import tariffs on steel and aluminum in the name of national security.The relevant provisions of the Measures Agreement are typical illegal trade safeguard measures.After reviewing the evolution of relevant legislation in the United States,the author finds that the "232 investigation" is actually another new tool for the United States to implement the "US priority" policy.The consideration behind this is the US trade protectionism against domestic manufacturing.On the macro level,President Trump abandoned the United States’ seven-year-old international liberal stance and turned to the realist position as the guiding ideology of the US national security strategy.At the U.S domestic level,on the one hand,the Trump administration’s Security Strategy Report shows that the Trump administration equates economic security with national security for the core purpose of promoting the US economicprosperity;on the other hand,it analyzes several times.The historical practice of the“232 Survey” indicates that the survey considers the economic security of protecting the domestic manufacturing industry,and this is completely in line with the Trump government policy.At the international level,in fact,the “security exceptions” clause of Article 21 of GATT has never defined national security measures.Therefore,through the analysis of the "safety exception" clause and the consideration of the "232investigation" attribute of steel and aluminum,it is related to the legitimacy of the countermeasures in our country.Therefore,the author mainly discusses from the following aspects:Firstly,by analyzing the setting of the “security exception” clause and its judicial practice,it is found that there are many restrictions on the application of this clause;after analyzing the investigation report issued by the United States,it is found that the“232 investigation” mainly maintains domestic industrial security,that is,economic security;The comparison between the two shows that the latter goes beyond the scope of “basic security interests” that the “security exceptions” clause is intended to protect,that is,it does not comply with the scope of application of Article 21 of the GATT.Secondly,under the realist national security strategy advocated by the Trump administration,the “national security” measured by the “Article 232” is economic security;combined with the measures initiated by the Trump administration based on the steel-aluminum investigation report,The adjustment measures initiated by the “232Survey” on the implementation effect are highly coincident with the trade safeguard measures.In this regard,the author believes that the "232 investigation" is a trade security measure.Thirdly,since the "232 investigation" is an abuse of the "security exception" clause,if the United States advocates victory in the dispute settlement practice,it will have a huge impact on global free trade,and will also make the authority of the WTO institutions disappear.In today’s economic globalization,the realization of trade liberalization is the common goal pursued by the international community.As the world’s second largest economy,China is facing the problem of implementing trade restrictions by other countries on the grounds of safeguarding national security.To this end,China has adopted a counter-action + WTO litigation strategy in time to deal with the US "232 investigation",but these two countermeasures are difficult at specific operational levels.Based on this,the author focuses on the current Sino-US trade friction,startingfrom the domestic and international levels,based on the present and the future,and making recommendations for China’s subsequent follow-up measures in line with international legal norms.At the domestic level,it mainly starts from strengthening research on the US trade relief mechanism,improving China’s national security trade legislation,and continuing to promote China’s industrial structure reform.At the international level,it actively uses multilateral relief channels: diversified judicial relief and diplomatic dialogue.In addition,in response to the reform of the WTO mechanism,China has also actively participated in and proposed reforms with Chinese wisdom.