President Donald Trump is doubling down on his trade agenda by launching new investigations into other countries’ trading practices after the Supreme Court struck down his tariffs last month.
Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 requires probes to impose tariffs in response to certain practices — in this instance, so-called excess capacity in manufacturing and forced labor.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Wednesday the former will involve China, the European Union, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Mexico, Japan, and India, while the latter will involve about 60 countries. Not on the list: Canada.
Greer told reporters he hopes to conclude the investigations before Trump’s Section 122 tariffs, which have a 150-day timeline, lapse later this year. He said the administration was also eyeing trade investigations related to digital service taxes; pharmaceutical pricing; and ocean pollution.