US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Marine One as it departs the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, March 11, 2026.
Brendan Smialowski | AFP | fake images
The Trump administration on Wednesday announced new trade investigations into China, Mexico, the European Union and more than a dozen other countries, aiming to replace President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, which were recently ruled illegal by the Supreme Court.
The investigations, which will likely be followed by others from additional nations, will be conducted under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told reporters during a call.
That law allows the United States to impose tariffs on goods imported from other nations that have engaged in unfair trade practices.
The Section 301 tariffs could replace at least some of the reciprocal tariffs on most of the world’s nations that Trump imposed on them last year without congressional authorization.
“The president’s trade policy remains the same,” Greer said.
“Protect American jobs and make sure we have fair trade with our trading partners,” he said.
Greer said Section 301 investigations “will cover acts, policies and practices of certain economies related to structural excess capacity and production in manufacturing sectors.”
“We hope this investigation will uncover a range of unfair trade practices related to excess capacity and production in the manufacturing sector,” he said. “Our view is that key trading partners still have production capacity that is not really subject to the market incentives of domestic and global demand.”
He said that has led to large and persistent trade surpluses.
In addition to Mexico, China and the EU, the other countries that will be investigated are: Japan, India, Taiwan, Vietnam, South Korea, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Thailand.
“We hope there will be other Section 301 investigations in specific countries, or perhaps other tools or investigations that may emerge,” Greer said. “I won’t go into too much detail.”
Under Section 301, the Trade Representative Office will receive written comments on the investigation, hold a hearing and “we will also consult with our business partners who are subject to this investigation,” Greer said.
“After all that, the USTR will have our conclusions and our analysis, and we will propose, if necessary, a response action,” he said. “Responsive action can take various forms. It can be tariffs, it can be fees for services, it can be other things.”
The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 ruling on Feb. 20, said Trump did not have the authority to impose such rights under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, as he had claimed he had.
Trump, just hours after that decision, signed an executive order imposing a new 10% “global tariff” under Section 122 of the Trade Act.
Section 122 fees expire in 150 days.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in an interview with CNBC last week, predicted that in August U.S. tariffs would return to levels in place before the Supreme Court ruling.
Bessent said that in the coming months, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the Commerce Department will complete trade-related studies that would allow them to impose more tariffs.
“I firmly believe that tariff rates will return to their previous level within five months, and those are very exaggerated authorities,” Bessent said.
“They have survived more than 4,000 legal challenges. They are slower, but stronger,” he said.
