The Trump administration on Wednesday announced new investigations into the trading practices of several U.S. trading partners, which could lead to more tariffs after the Supreme Court struck down some of President Trump’s tariffs last month. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the U.S. will investigate concerns of “structural excess capacity”, manufacturing more goods than a country can reasonably consume, in the European Union, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, South Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Mexico, Japan, and India.
President Trump is relying on Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to unilaterally retaliate against countries if the U.S. determines they’ve imposed unfair trade barriers against the U.S. The law requires the federal government to first investigate the country’s trade practices. Structural excess capacity violations could result in the suppression of domestic wages and sustained market access barriers, Greer said.
Greer said the U.S. will also soon launch separate Section 301 investigations into around 60 trading partner countries to ensure they’re prohibiting the import of goods made with forced labor. Greer said the administration also expects to launch the other Section 301 investigations “on a country-specific basis.” Greer said the administration’s goal is to conclude the new Section 301 investigations before the clock runs out on the temporary tariffs in July, but he also said he can’t predetermine how long the investigations will take.
