US President Donald Trump's administration has begun investigations into imports of a semiconductor material and unmanned aircraft systems to determine their effects on America's national security, Commerce Department notices showed Monday.
On the Federal Register, the department's Bureau of Industry and Security posted the notices on the probes on polysilicon and the UAS that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick initiated July 1 under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, in what could be a step toward imposing tariffs on those items.
Under Section 232, the president is provided with authority to adjust imports into the US when he determines they threaten to impair national security.
In the notices, the bureau said the investigations will look into the effects of polysilicon and its derivatives, as well as UAS, their parts and components. Polysilicon is a crucial material used in the semiconductor industry.
The department plans to collect public comments for 21 days since the official posting of the notices.
By law, the commerce secretary has 270 days to present his department's findings and recommendations regarding the imported products to the president.
Within 90 days after getting a report from the secretary, the president is to determine whether he concurs with the department's findings and make a decision. (Yonhap)
