{"id":4825,"date":"2026-03-12T14:18:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T18:18:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thebulletinjournal.com\/?p=4825"},"modified":"2026-03-12T14:18:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T18:18:11","slug":"u-s-opens-section-301-probes-into-15-partners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thebulletinjournal.com\/?p=4825","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Opens Section 301 Probes Into 15 Partners"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Washington<\/strong> on Wednesday escalated its trade agenda by launching new <strong>Section 301<\/strong> investigations into more than a dozen major trading partners. The move signals a potential new round of tariffs as the Trump administration seeks to replace its temporary, court-driven tariff framework with country and sector specific actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Which Economies Are Under Review<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Office of the <strong>U.S. Trade Representative<\/strong> said it is opening formal probes into the <strong>European Union<\/strong>, <strong>Mexico<\/strong> and <strong>China<\/strong>, three of the largest sources of U.S. imports. The list also includes <strong>Singapore<\/strong>, <strong>Switzerland<\/strong>, <strong>Norway<\/strong>, <strong>Indonesia<\/strong>, <strong>Malaysia<\/strong>, <strong>Cambodia<\/strong>, <strong>Thailand<\/strong>, <strong>South Korea<\/strong>, <strong>Vietnam<\/strong>, <strong>Taiwan<\/strong>, <strong>Bangladesh<\/strong>, <strong>Japan<\/strong> and <strong>India<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Jamieson Greer<\/strong>, the U.S. trade representative, said the investigations will focus on evidence of \u201cstructural excess capacity\u201d in manufacturing. He pointed to indicators such as <strong>persistent trade surpluses<\/strong> and <strong>unused production capacity<\/strong>. Greer said the administration expects to identify unfair practices, which could support future tariff actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tariffs, Court Ruling, and the 150 Day Clock<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The investigations follow the imposition of a <strong>blanket 10%<\/strong> tariff across trading partners after the Supreme Court struck down many country specific tariffs in late February. The ruling said <strong>Donald Trump<\/strong> exceeded authority using the <strong>International Emergency Economic Powers Act<\/strong> for broad, rapid tariffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The current 10% duty rests on <strong>Section 122<\/strong> of the <strong>Trade Act of 1974<\/strong>, which limits the measure to <strong>150 days<\/strong>. Greer said he wants the Section 301 work finished before that window closes. He said the president would have options, but the priority is completing the investigations quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Forced Labor Action and Likely Partner Pushback<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Greer also said the U.S. plans a separate announcement later this week tied to imports made with <strong>forced labor<\/strong>. Forced labor goods are already barred under <strong>Section 307<\/strong> of the <strong>Tariff Act of 1930<\/strong>. Enforcement was strengthened by the <strong>Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act<\/strong> in <strong>2021<\/strong>, which targeted goods linked to <strong>Xinjiang<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Trading partners are expected to object, especially after several reached framework arrangements over the past year. The announcement also raises questions for existing accords, including the <strong>United States Mexico Canada Agreement<\/strong>. In Europe, the ratification of a summer trade deal has been paused amid broader tensions. <strong>Bernd Lange<\/strong>, who heads the European Parliament trade committee, warned of \u201ctariff chaos\u201d and rising uncertainty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Switzerland<\/strong> may face extra scrutiny after Trump described a personal grievance involving then president <strong>Karin Keller-Sutter<\/strong>. Trump said he initially favored a <strong>39%<\/strong> rate, later reduced to <strong>15%<\/strong> after industry pressure, including a visit from <strong>Rolex<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington on Wednesday escalated its trade agenda by launching new Section 301 investigations into more than a dozen major trading partners. The move signals a potential new round of tariffs as the Trump administration seeks to replace its temporary, court-driven tariff framework with country and sector specific actions. Which Economies Are Under Review The Office<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":4826,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[1377,1370,1372,1376,1378,1375,1373,1371,1369,1374],"ppma_author":[42],"class_list":{"0":"post-4825","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-blanket-10-tariff","9":"tag-eu-mexico-china-probes","10":"tag-forced-labor-import-ban","11":"tag-jamieson-greer-investigations","12":"tag-new-us-tariffs-risk","13":"tag-section-122-tariff-clock","14":"tag-switzerland-tariff-dispute","15":"tag-trump-trade-wars","16":"tag-ustr-section-301","17":"tag-uyghur-forced-labor-prevention-act"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>U.S. Opens Section 301 Probes Into 15 Partners - The Bulletin Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thebulletinjournal.com\/?p=4825\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"U.S. Opens Section 301 Probes Into 15 Partners - The Bulletin Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Washington on Wednesday escalated its trade agenda by launching new Section 301 investigations into more than a dozen major trading partners. 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