India, China Among 16 US Trading Partners Hit By Trump's '301' Tariff Probes

The Donald Trump administration in the United States has launched new "unfair trade practice" investigations into 16 key trading partners, including India, China and Bangladesh, in a move to restore tariff pressure after they were struck down by the US Supreme Court as illegal last month. The probes are being conducted under "Section 301" of the Trade Act of 1974, which empowers the US Trade Representative to impose tariffs or other retaliatory measures against trading partners determined to employ unfair trade practices.

The investigation could lead to new tariffs imposed against China, the European Union, India, Japan, South Korea and Mexico by this summer, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said.

Other trading partners subject to the excess capacity probe include Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Switzerland and Norway. 

Canada, the second-largest US trading partner, was not mentioned as a target of the probe.

"So these investigations will focus on economies that we have evidence appears to exhibit structural excess capacity and production in various manufacturing sectors, such as through larger persistent trade surpluses or underutilised or unused capacity," Greer told reporters on a conference call.

List Of 16 Nations Under Probe

Source: US Census Bureau trade data

Forced Labor Probe

Greer also said that on Thursday, he would initiate another probe under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to ban US imports of goods produced with forced labour. That investigation covers more than 60 countries.

The US has already cracked down on solar panel imports and other goods from China's Xinjiang region under the Uyghur Forced Labour Protection Act signed into law by former President Joe Biden, and the probe could expand such actions to other countries.

Greer said he wanted other countries to enforce bans on goods produced with forced labour similar to those enshrined in a nearly century-old trade law.

The US alleges that Chinese authorities have established labour camps for ethnic Uyghur and other Muslim groups in the western region, though Beijing denies allegations of abuse. 

Why Trump Is Probing Trading Partners

Greer said that he hoped to conclude the Section 301 investigations, including proposed remedies, before new temporary tariffs imposed by Trump in late February expire in July. After the Supreme Court struck down Trump's global tariffs as illegal under a national emergencies law on February 20, he imposed a 10 per cent tariff for 150 days under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974.

He laid out a swift timeline for the excess capacity probe, with public comments accepted through April 15 and a public hearing slated for about May 5.

The probes offer the Trump administration an avenue to rebuild a credible tariff threat against trading partners to keep them negotiating and implement trade deals that were cut to reduce his higher tariff rates under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Greer said the new probes, long telegraphed by administration officials, should come as no surprise to trading partners, and they should stick to their deals, although he stopped short of saying that this would make them immune to all new Section 301 tariffs.

He said that Trump was determined to pursue tariffs and "will find a way to deal with unfair trading practices. He'll find a way to get our trade deficit down. He'll find a way to protect US manufacturing. We have a lot of tools to do it," Greer said.