Trump administration takes steps to impose new tariffs, announcing investigations into key trading partners

Washington — The Trump administration on Wednesday announced new investigations into the trading practices of a number of 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 conduct an investigation into 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 Wednesday’s announcement, which will be published in the Federal Register, was “just an initiation.”

“We expect at the end of this process to be able to articulate with even more precision some of the challenges that face the United States because of structural excess capacity among some of our trading partners,” Greer told reporters on a call ahead of the announcement. 

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 trade deals the U.S. already has in place with many of these countries are “independent” of these investigations. 

After the Supreme Court ruled that President Trump lacks the authority to unilaterally impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the president announced a global tariff rate of 10% for up to 150 days, relying on a different code, Section 122. These tariffs will expire at the end of that period of time, unless they’re extended by Congress. Mr. Trump later said he would increase that rate to 15%, although the White House hasn’t made that 5-point increase official. 

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.

Mr. Trump used Section 301 in 2018 to impose tariffs on China during his first term in office, after the U.S. trade representative determined China was treating the U.S. unfairly in trade matters, particularly related to technology transfer and intellectual property. Former President Joe Biden declined to end the China tariffs, and even added new tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, semiconductors, solar cells and other products in 2024.