Trump Gets Go Ahead From DOJ To Keep Tariffs Report Sealed

The White House refused to release a report by the Commerce Department concerning a proposed tariff on automobile imports and car parts.

The report was handed to President Donald Trump’s Office in February, but has not been released and has been kept confidential.

Congress tried to have the report disclosed by asking the Secretary Of Commerce to release it by January 19th.

Assistant Attorney General Steven Engel, in a letter posted on Tuesday, acknowledged the full constitutional doctrine of executive privilege that the White House exercised to seal the report.

He said that the report was deemed a confidential presidential communication and could impair efforts on the diplomatic front. It was warranted as a national security concern.

With no comments being made by the White House, a spokesperson for the Commerce Department chorused the same sentiments as the Justice Department. He insisted the release of the report would disrupt the president’s capability to protect executive branch communications, which were confidential.

The report analyzes whether tariffs on automobile imports are needed since the Trade Expansion Act Section 232 allows for the implementation of duties without the congress having to vote on it if the imports are earmarked as a national security threat.

The controversial duties have been subjected to legal challenges not only in the U.S. courts but by the World Trading Organization as well.

Work on a bipartisan bill by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley is being done to modify Section 232, as lawmakers have lamented about how the White House uses this statute.

Senator Pat Toomey, in a statement, pointed out that the refusal to release the report by the Department Of Commerce was a willful violation of the federal law.

The Senator said that they would be looking into “corrective action” aimed at pushing for the official release of the report.

The Driving American Jobs Coalition made up of automobile manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and dealers, in an email statement expressed concern on labeling imports as national security threats, saying a hike in taxes for the auto imports would be putting American jobs at risk.

The statement called on the administration to take away the threat of tariffs and assure economic stability to the millions of Americans working in the auto industry.

International automobile manufacturers operating in the U.S., under the coalition ‘Here For America,’ expressed disappointment at the lack of a compelling reason for not releasing the report.

The manufacturers have invested eighty-eight billion dollars in production facilities in the U.S.