Trade Expansion Act

The Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (Pub. L.87–794, 76 Stat.872, enacted October 11, 1962, codified at 19 U.S.C.ch. 7) is an American trade law.

The law was intended to maintain American economic influence in the wake of the creation of the European Economic Community.

The Trade Expansion Act granted the president of the United States unprecedented authority to negotiate tariff reductions of up to 50%. It paved the way for the Kennedy Round of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) negotiations, concluding on June 30, 1967, the last day before expiration of the Act.

Section 232 of the act permits the president to impose tariffs based on a recommendation by the U.S. secretary of commerce if "an article is being imported into the United States in such quantities or under such circumstances as to threaten or impair the national security." This section was used only in 1979 and 1982, and had not been invoked since the creation of the World Trade Organization in 1995, until President Trump cited it on March 8, 2018, to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum.