Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said Thursday that the Trump administration has initiated a sweeping investigation of how trade has affected national security and the U.S. economy.

“Last night the Department of Commerce initiated an investigation under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962,” Ross told reporters at the White House on Thursday. “That authorizes the secretary of commerce to conduct comprehensive investigations to determine the effects of imports of any particular item into the United States on the security of the country.”