Countries are pushing back on United States President Donald Trump’s threat to use new avenues to impose tariffs after the Supreme Court ruled his emergency-measures tariffs were bogus.
The United States has now turned to investigations of “structural excess capacity” in 15 countries and the European Union, some of which has negotiated new trade deals.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced last week that his office (USTR) had launched formal investigations to determine if American commerce was harmed by possible “unreasonable or discriminatory” practices in China, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Mexico, Japan, India and the EU.
The probes are required under Section 301 of U.S. trade law before tariffs can be imposed. The investigation process requires several months but could give President Donald Trump new power to impose tariffs after the July expiration of the current Section 122 tariffs, which are also facing court challenges.
China recently called the Section 301 investigations “extremely unilateral, arbitrary and discriminatory, and a typical protectionist act.”
An additional Section 301 investigation was started on forced labor in 60 countries, targeting the EU and Britain, key meat trading partners including Canada, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, as well as China, Brazil, Argentina and a wide range of emerging markets across Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
“The U.S. has once again abused the 301 investigation process to override domestic law over international rules,” a Chinese government spokesperson said.
