On October 28, President Trump issued a Proclamation and corresponding Fact Sheet directing the Department of Commerce (DOC) and U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to pursue trade negotiations to address national security concerns stemming from the pending Section 232 robotics and industrial machinery investigation initiated in September 2025. Most importantly, this means the Administrations has abstained from implementing additional tariffs at this time.
Per the proclamation, the DOC and USTR must periodically report to the President on the status of negotiations and any other developments which may merit alternative remedies, including tariff action. The proclamation does not indicate the scope of countries which the Administration will negotiate with nor the scope of products which could be hit with alternative remedies (i.e., tariffs). As such, the Administration retains the ability to implement tariffs at a later date, and it is unclear if food processing and packaging machinery could be targeted.
A helpful callout from the proclamation’s preamble is the Admirations acknowledgement that:
1) Robotics and industrial machinery are critical to virtually all modern manufacturing processes; and
2) Despite increased investments in domestic manufacturing, the US produces less robotics/industrial equipment than it consumes and lacks domestic sources to satisfy domestic demand.
