On August 13, the Department of Commerce initiated an investigation into the national security implications of importing wind turbines and component parts under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, setting up the legal framework to levy tariffs on these products. In a new insight, Director of Energy and Environmental Policy Shuting Pomerleau and Trade Policy Analyst Jacob Jensen provide an overview of the Section 232 investigation into wind turbine imports, the value of these imports, and the likely cost of these tariffs.

Key points:

• As part of its long-running opposition to wind energy generation, the Trump Administration has recently initiated a Section 232 investigation into imports of wind turbines and components, laying the groundwork to levy tariffs on these goods ostensibly in the interest of national security as soon as the end of 2025 or early 2026.
• The United States imported about $1.8 billion worth of wind turbines and component parts in 2024, with top countries of origin including Mexico, France, India, Denmark, and Germany; assuming the potential wind turbine tariffs match the 50-percent Section 232 tariff rate on steel and aluminum imports, they would result in approximately $385 million in added costs for U.S. consumers and businesses.
• Tariffs on wind turbine imports would impede the deployment of wind energy, thus creating additional obstacles to the use of an important renewable energy source for electricity generation.

Read the analysis.