Research ArticleOpen AccessGoogle Scholar indexed
Section 232 Tariffs: A Capital Accumulation Tool in the Name of National Security
Department of Intelligence Research, Machinery Industry Information Research Institute, Beijing, China
- 1 Department of Intelligence Research, Machinery Industry Information Research Institute, Beijing, China
Beijing Law Review·Volume 16 (2025)·Pages 1779–1796·Published 28 July 2025·DOI10.4236/blr.2025.163089
Copy link · social · email
Abstract
The manuscript argues that U.S. Section 232 tariffs function less as bona-fide security measures than as instruments for monopoly capital to reshape global value chains. Drawing on historical legal analysis and a Marxist framework, the author links the 1962 Trade Expansion Act to contemporary tariff practice, detailing how ambiguous “national security” language, WTO loopholes and presidential discretion facilitate capital accumulation. The paper concludes that Section 232 exemplifies a broader struggle over rule-making power in the world economy.
KeywordsSection 232 InvestigationNational SecurityCapital AccumulationTrade ProtectionIndustrial ChainSupply ChainGlobal Value ChainOrder ReconstructionChain Power
- CNBC (2025). US Inflation Rises 0 . 1% in May from Prior Month , Less than Expected . https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/11/cpi-inflation-may-2025.html
- Committee on Security of America’s Medical Product Supply Chain, Board on Health Sciences Policy, Health and Medicine Division (2022). Building Resilience into the Nation’s Medical Product Supply Chains. National Academies Press (US). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK583739/pdf/Bookshelf_NBK583739.pdf
- Durante, A. (2024). How the Section 232 Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum Harmed the Economy. https://taxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/How-the-Section-232-Tariffs-on-Steel-and-Aluminum-Harmed-the-Economy-2024.pdf
- Executive Office of the President (2025). Ensuring National Security and Economic Resilience through Section 232 Actions on Processed Critical Minerals and Derivative Prod ucts. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/04/18/2025-06836/ensuring-national-security-and-economic-resilience-through-section-232-actions-on-processed-critical
- Hu, J. G., & Zeng, Q. Y. (2023). US-EU Section 232 Steel and Aluminum Agreement and China’s Response under the Horizon of World Trade Organization Law. Economic and Trade Law Review , No. 2, 65-85. https://law.uibe.edu.cn/docs/2023-04/25a1f7258158457b9713fd4f962b1253.pdf
- Hu, J. X. (2019). An Analysis of the Origin of the Domestic Law of US Trade Protectionism—A Review of Section 232 and Section 301. https://law.uibe.edu.cn/docs/2020-07/20200719230236312122.pdf
- Morales, N. (2025). Supply Chain Resilience and the Effects of Economic Shocks. Economic Brief, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. https://www.richmondfed.org/publications/research/economic_brief/2025/eb_25-02
- Morgan, J. P. (2025). US Tariffs: What’s the Impact on Global Trade and the Economy? https://www.jpmorgan.com/insights/global-research/current-events/us-tariffs
- Nugraha, A., Madu, L., & Mulyanto, I. H. (2025). Navigating Domestic and International Pressures: A Securitization Analysis of Indonesia’s Nickel Policy. SHS Web of Conferences , 212, Article No. 04003. https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/202521204003
- Packard, C., & Alfredo, A. C. (2025). More Costly Steel Tariffs on the Horizon. Cato Institute. https://www.cato.org/blog/more-costly-steel-tariffs-horizon
- Pettis, M. (2021). How Trump’s Tariffs Really Affected the US Job Market. Carnegie Endowment. https://carnegieendowment.org/china-financial-markets/2021/01/how-trumps-tariffs-really-affected-the-us-job-market?lang=en