Section 232 Investigation on Medium and Heavy Duty Trucks and Parts Begins
A Section 232 investigation on the national security threat posed by the import of medium- and heavy-duty trucks and their parts will collect comments for three weeks, through May 16.
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The Bureau of Industry and Security wants to hear from parties about:
- current and projected domestic demand for trucks and truck parts
- to what extent domestic production can meet that demand
- how much "major exporters" meet that demand
- what the risks are of importing heavy trucks and truck parts from a few suppliers
- the impact of foreign government subsidies and "predatory trade practices" on domestic manufacturers
- the potential for foreign nations to cut off exports
- the feasibility of increasing domestic manufacturing to reduce import reliance
- the impact of current trade policies on domestic production of trucks and truck parts
- whether tariffs or quotas are necessary to protect national security.
The investigation was launched April 22, according to a pre-publication Federal Register notice. No press release was issued by the Commerce Department or White House on the investigation. The previous administration had said it might make restrictions on Chinese-owned truck manufacturers through the connected vehicles rulemaking process (see 2501140007), but President Donald Trump had made no mention of heavy trucks when he previewed coming sectoral actions on lumber, pharmaceuticals, copper and critical minerals.
The action covers trucks with a gross vehicle weight of more than 10,000 and components and systems for those trucks, including engines, and engine parts, transmissions and powertrain parts, and electrical components.
Once the regulations.gov docket opens, on April 25, comments should be made at BIS-2025-0024, and should include "XRIN 0694-XC125".
News reports have said that Volvo Trucks announced coming layoffs at its largest plant, in Virginia, in March, of 250 to 350 workers, as well as 40 workers at an engine plant in Maryland, due to weakening demand in the long-haul segment.
In April, the layoffs expanded to Mack Truck plants in Pennsylvania, with another 250-350 reductions, and the engine plant reductions grew to 50-100, according to a local ABC news station.
The Volvo Group wrote in its quarterly financial report that "sales of vehicles were 9% lower than in Q1 2024 and as the quarter went by, there was increased uncertainty surrounding tariffs and their effect on global trade."
Unlike Volvo Cars, which is now Chinese-owned, Volvo Group, which makes heavy trucks, buses and construction equipment, is still a Swedish company. It has 16 North American factories, including the Volvo Trucks plant in Southwest Virginia, the Volvo/Mack engine plant in Western Maryland, the Mack Truck plant in Pennsylvania, and bus factories in Canada and Mexico. Its website says, "We are in the process of building a new truck plant for the North American market in Mexico." It says it has more than 19,000 employees in North America.