COVID-19 Creates Air Conditioning Conundrum (Politico)

(Washington, DC) -- The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute raised alarm bells in a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over its members' inability to manufacture products in their Mexican factories because of the pandemic.

According to the letter, there is currently no federal directive designating essential status for HVACR and water heating in Mexico — where some of AHRI's member companies have a large manufacturing presence. Because of that, "the situation for equipment and supply chain manufacturers there is dire," writes Stephen Yurek, the trade association's president and CEO.

The group calls on Pompeo to persuade Mexico's federal, state and local jurisdictions to allow continued manufacturing operations. "The continued inability of some of our member companies to manufacture products in their Mexican factories will very soon severely impact our ability to supply these essential products to the American market, putting American lives and health at risk," the letter states.

U.S. Dept of Commerce Launches Probe into Transformer Equipment (Politico)

(WASHINGTON, DC) -- The Commerce Department opened a Section 232 investigation into whether imports of certain parts used in electrical transformer equipment constitutes a national security risk and should be subject to trade restrictions.

The probe comes under the same law used to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports and came after requests from members of Congress and domestic industry, Commerce said. "An assured domestic supply of these products enables the United States to respond to large power disruptions affecting civilian populations, critical infrastructure, and U.S. defense industrial production capabilities," the department said.

The order follows Friday's executive order prohibiting U.S. electric utilities from installing grid devices from foreign manufacturers that could threaten national security.