Washington, May 24: US President Donald Trump ordered the Commerce Department to start a study into determining the need to impose import duties on autos and parts.

"I instructed Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross, to consider initiating a Section 232 investigation into imports of automobiles, including trucks, and automotive parts to determine their effects on America's national security," Efe news reported quoting Trump as saying in a statement on Wednesday, after meeting Ross to discuss the current state of the US car industry.

The largest exporter of cars to the US is Mexico, followed by Canada, Japan, Germany, and South Korea, according to data from the Department of Commerce.

Trump expressed dissatisfaction with the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico, an agreement that he had threatened to break during the election campaign.

Also during the campaign, Trump made the preservation of the auto industry one of the pillars of his protectionist economic proposals, a promise that allowed him to win in Michigan, where most of the auto industry is concentrated.

Since Trump came to power, the Commerce Department has initiated more than 100 investigations over unfair competition, many of which have ended in the imposition of tariffs.

One such investigation resulted in the Trump administration imposing a 10 per cent tariff on aluminium and a 25 per cent tariff on steel, although he exempted some allies like Argentina, Brazil, Australia and South Korea.

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Mysuru (Karnataka), Nov 13: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said there was a demand for four per cent reservation for Muslims in government tenders, but no decision has been taken yet on it.

Prominent Muslim leaders, including Karnataka Minister for Municipal Administration and Hajj, Rahim Khan, Congress MLAs and MLCs wrote to the chief minister on August 24 demanding to consider giving four per cent reservation to socially and economically backward Muslims in government contracts. The chief minister wrote on the petition on August 31 that the file should be put up, sources said.

"There was a demand for four per cent reservation, but we have not taken any decision yet," Siddaramaiah told reporters here.

When asked about the BJP raking up this issue, he said, "The BJP wants to communalise everything. Their job is to create a rift between Hindus and Muslims. Did they ever wish peace in society?"

BJP state president B Y Vijayendra termed the purported move unhealthy.

"In a bid to woo the Muslim community, the @INCKarnataka government is going to give reservation in contracts as well, which will damage the health of a harmonious society," he said in a post on ‘X’.

He said it had become inevitable to protest against such stances of the Congress government.

Former Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar alleged in his post on social media 'X' saying what seemed like "shameless appeasement politics" to be a "cover for Congress corruption machine".