On April 16, 2025, the Department of Commerce published two Federal Register Notices (FRNs) requesting public comments on Section 232 investigations for semiconductors and pharmaceuticals.

On April 1, 2025, the Secretary of Commerce initiated a Section 232 investigation to assess the national security impact of importing semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and derivative products. This investigation includes products such as semiconductor substrates and bare wafers, legacy chips, leading-edge chips, microelectronics, and small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises (SME) components.

On the same day, the Secretary of Commerce also began a Section 232 investigation into the national security effects of importing pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients, and derivative products. This includes products such as finished drug products, medical countermeasures, critical inputs such as active pharmaceutical ingredients and key starting materials, and derivative products of those items.

Each FRN outlines the specific criteria for feedback that the government seeks for each product investigation. The notices provide instructions on how to submit public or “business confidential” comments for these investigations.

Comments for both investigations must be submitted to the federal rulemaking portal at www.regulations.gov by May 7, 2025.

FRN 2025-06591 on the Semiconductor Section 232 investigation can be found here:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/04/16/2025-06591/notice-of-request-for-public-comments-on-section-232-national-security-investigation-of-imports-of

FRN 2025-06587 on the Pharmaceutical Section 232 investigation can be found here:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/04/16/2025-06587/notice-of-request-for-public-comments-on-section-232-national-security-investigation-of-imports-of