The Trump administration has opened new investigations into manufacturing in foreign countries as it deals with the aftermath of last month’s Supreme Court decision invalidating tariffs imposed after declaring an economic emergency.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the government is launching investigations under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which could eventually lead to new import taxes.
The investigations are expected to examine excess industrial capacity and government backing that could give foreign companies an unfair advantage over U.S. companies.
The entities subject to the investigation include China, the European Union, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, South Korea, Vietnam, the self-governing island of Taiwan, Bangladesh, Mexico, Japan, and India. Canada was not included in the list of countries targeted by the investigations.
The administration is also rolling out a Section 301 investigation to ban the importing of goods made by forced labor. The U.S. government faces timeline pressure after imposing 10% tariffs on foreign-made goods under Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act. Those expire on July 24 after 150 days. Trump said he planned to raise that import tax to 15%, but he has yet to do so.
Numerous court challenges by companies seeking refunds from the government, by customers seeking refunds from shippers, and by states seeking to prevent additional tariffs are still pending.
– The Canadian Press contributed to this article.
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