On October 22, 2026, President Trump signed a proclamation titled Adjusting Imports of Wind Turbines and Their Parts and Components into the United States (Oct. 22, 2026), concluding a section 232 investigation that the Department of Commerce initiated on August 13, 2025 (90 Fed. Reg. 41380). The proclamation adopts the Secretary of Commerce's finding that wind turbines and their components and subcomponents are being imported under circumstances that threaten to impair the national security of the United States. It does not impose new tariffs. The President instead directed the Secretary of Commerce and the United States Trade Representative to negotiate with foreign trading partners.
The Investigation
The Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), initiated the investigation under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (19 U.S.C. § 1862). BIS published a request for public comments on August 25, 2025, with comments due September 9, 2025. According to the proclamation, the Secretary transmitted the resulting report to the President within the 90 days preceding the proclamation.
Findings Recited in the Proclamation
The proclamation recites several grounds for the Secretary's finding. It states that wind generation is intermittent, places burdens on the electric grid, and accounts for a small portion of utility-scale generation. It identifies cybersecurity risks associated with networked inverters, stating that the vast majority of those inverters are produced outside the United States. It cites interference by wind turbines with radar systems. It also states that imports of wind turbines and components have increased over the last decade while domestic blade manufacturing capacity "has not meaningfully increased."
The proclamation does not name any country and does not include import volumes, market shares, or capacity figures.
Negotiation Directive
The President concurred with the Secretary's finding and determined that "it is necessary and appropriate to enter into negotiations with foreign trading partners." The proclamation directs the Secretary and the Trade Representative to pursue or continue negotiations with the trading partners they deem appropriate and to provide updates on those negotiations, with at least one update due within 180 days of the date of the proclamation. The Secretary is also directed to continue monitoring imports of wind turbines and their parts and components and to inform the President of any circumstances that may indicate the need for further action.
The proclamation states that the President may consider alternative remedies in the future. Under section 232(c)(3)(A) of the Trade Expansion Act, if no agreement is entered into within 180 days after the President's decision to negotiate, or if an agreement is ineffective in eliminating the threatened impairment, the President shall take such other actions as he deems necessary. The 180th day after October 22, 2026, falls on April 20, 2027.
Existing Section 232 Duties Unchanged
The proclamation notes that certain wind turbine components and subcomponents made of aluminum, steel, or copper are already subject to duties under Proclamation 9704 (aluminum) and Proclamation 9705 (steel), both issued March 8, 2018, and Proclamation 10962 (copper), issued July 30, 2025, each as amended. It states that nothing in the proclamation modifies those duties or any other tariffs imposed under section 232.