On May 28, 2020, The Secretary of Commerce opened a new investigation to determine the effects on national security from imports of vanadium, pursuant to its authority under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.  Interested parties are invited to submit written comments, data, analyses, or information pertinent to the investigation, no later than July 20, 2020.  A party potentially impacted in any way – directly or indirectly - by vanadium tariffs should consider submitting comments.

Section 232 is the authority under which Commerce investigated imports of steel and aluminum in 2017, resulting in significant additional tariffs steel and aluminum imports. Our experience with the steel and aluminum tariffs is that the administration is quick to extend the restrictions on raw materials to key finished parts and components made from those materials. The vanadium investigation could have similar wide-reaching results, so anyone relying on specialty steel or catalysts using vanadium, rather than vanadium itself, may be impacted as well.  All this underscores the importance of early participation by any party potentially impacted by tariffs on vanadium in raw form or in downstream products.

Vanadium is a metal with a variety of uses, and is designated a strategic and critical material.  It is used in the production of metal alloys and as a catalyst for chemicals across aerospace, defense, energy, and infrastructure sectors. Examples of include aircraft, jet engines, ballistic missiles, energy storage, bridges, buildings, pipelines, gears, axles, crankshafts, high-speed tool steels such as cutting tools, and in compounds for fixing dyes to fabrics.

World production of vanadium currently comes from China, South Africa, and Russia. Domestic production of vanadium is under development but not yet available, so U.S. demand is supplied entirely through imports. Because vanadium is utilized in U.S national defense and critical infrastructure, the Commerce investigation will look into whether the present quantities or circumstances of vanadium imports into the U. S. threaten to impair U.S. national security.

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