What is Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974? 16 US trading partners including India hit by Trump's probe

The Trump administration has initiated fresh investigations into alleged “unfair trade practices” by 16 major trading partners, including India, China, and Bangladesh. The move aims to reapply tariff pressure following a US Supreme Court ruling last month that declared previous levies illegal.

These inquiries are being carried out under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. The law empowers the US Trade Representative to enforce tariffs or other punitive measures against nations found to be using unfair trade practices.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer indicated that the investigations could result in new tariffs on China, the European Union, India, Japan, South Korea, and Mexico by the coming summer.

What is Section 310 of the Trade Act of 1974?

According to the Office of the United States Trade Representative, Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 is intended to tackle unfair foreign practices that impact US trade. It allows the US to respond to foreign government actions that are unjustifiable, unreasonable, or discriminatory and that burden or restrict US commerce. Under Section 302(b) of the Act, the US Trade Representative has the authority to initiate a Section 301 investigation on their own.

What will the investigation include?

A Section 301(b) investigation under the Trade Act assesses whether a foreign country’s actions, policies, or practices are unreasonable or discriminatory and whether they burden or restrict US commerce, the USTR said.

Following guidance from the inter-agency Section 301 Committee and consultations with relevant advisory committees, the US Trade Representative has formally launched these investigations.

What happens after the investigation?

Upon initiation of an investigation, the United States Trade Representative must seek consultations with the economies whose acts, policies, or practices are under investigation.

The USTR has sought consultations with the governments of China, the European Union, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, South Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Mexico, Japan, and India.

A docket for public comments on the investigations will open on 17 March. To ensure their input is considered, interested parties should submit written comments, requests to testify, and a summary of their testimony by 15 April.

USTR will hold a hearing in connection with these investigations starting on 5 May.

Here's what Jamieson Greer said

Greer expressed a desire for international partners to adopt similar bans on goods produced with forced labour, citing standards in a nearly century-old trade law.

Greer said his department intends to wrap up the Section 301 probes, including any "proposed remedies," before the temporary tariffs introduced by Trump in late February expire this July.

Greer said, “The Trump Administration’s reindustrialisation efforts continue to face significant challenges due to foreign economies’ structural excess capacity and production in manufacturing sectors. Across numerous sectors, many U.S. trading partners are producing more goods than they can consume domestically. This overproduction displaces existing U.S. domestic production or prevents investment and expansion in U.S. manufacturing production that otherwise would have been brought online. In many sectors, the United States has lost substantial domestic production capacity or has fallen worryingly behind foreign competitors.”

The administration alleges that all 16 countries employ policies that disadvantage US goods producers, resulting in all but one running substantial goods trade surpluses with the US.

Here are 16 countries subject to investigation

(Source: US Census Bureau trade data)

South Korea reacts

South Korea’s Ministry of Industry said on Thursday that it will work to protect local exporters from adverse impacts following the country's inclusion in the US Section 301 investigation into unfair trade practices, as reported by Reuters.

The ministry also said in a statement that the government would closely cooperate with Washington over the matter.

(With inputs from agencies)