More than 140 lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday urged the Trump administration to drop a national security investigation into automotive imports.
"The industry has rebounded from the depths of the Great Recession, and in some parts of the industry, employment is actually higher than pre-recession levels. However, imposing tariffs, quotas, or other restrictions on automobiles and/or automotive parts threatens to undo that momentum," these lawmakers wrote in a letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
"We do not believe that imports of automobile and automotive parts pose a national security threat. Rather, we believe the imposition of trade restrictions on these products could undermine our economic security," the letter said.
The lawmakers believed that taxpayer dollars to be used by the Commerce Department for this investigation "would be better spent on other endeavors."
The letter came one day before the Commerce Department is scheduled to hold a public hearing on its so-called Section 232 investigation into automotive imports.
U.S. lawmakers, auto manufacturers and dealers have warned that the investigation could disrupt global supply chains and kill American jobs.
The Trump administration has used the Section 232 to unilaterally impose high tariffs on steel and aluminum imports on the grounds of national security, drawing strong opposition from the domestic business community and U.S. trading partners.
