The Trump administration has launched a national security investigation that could lead to new tariffs on electrical grid parts as concerns grow over US reliance on overseas supply chains.
The Department of Commerce said on Monday it would launch the so-called Section 232 inquiry into whether the parts, including electrical transformers, transformer cores and transformer regulators, were being imported into the US in quantities that threatened national security.
Wilbur Ross, commerce secretary, has written to Mark Esper, defence secretary, to inform him of the investigation, the commerce department said in a statement. Mr Ross said his department would conduct a “thorough, fair and transparent review”.