US President Donald Trump on Thursday declared imports of wind turbines and their components a threat to national security, but stopped short of imposing new tariffs on the sector, Reuters reported from Washington on October 22.

Source: Reuters via SRN News

In a White House proclamation, Trump said a Commerce Department investigation found that imported wind turbines threatened national security due to cybersecurity concerns tied to foreign-made equipment, interference with radar systems and air traffic operations, and an increased US reliance on goods made overseas, Reuters reported. The proclamation is the primary document for what the administration ordered.

The move responds to a probe launched in August 2025 under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, one of numerous trade investigations the administration has conducted into the national security implications of imports, according to Reuters.

Instead of ordering immediate trade restrictions, Trump directed trade officials to pursue negotiations with trading partners and report back within 180 days. Additional trade measures, including tariffs, could be considered later, the order said, according to Reuters.

The order repeats Trump's longstanding criticism of wind energy as unreliable because it is intermittent. “Given wind energy's intermittent reliability, use of wind energy diverts the United States electrical grid from more reliable energy sources,” the order said, as quoted by Reuters.

Major suppliers of wind turbines and components to the United States include Mexico, France, India, Denmark and Germany, according to trade data cited by the center-right think tank American Action Forum and reported by Reuters — which puts Indian manufacturers among those with a direct stake in the outcome of the talks. A spokesperson for the American Clean Power Association, a trade group representing clean energy companies, was not immediately available for comment, Reuters reported.