U.S. Trade Policy

The Trump administration on Thursday formally opened Section 301 investigations into alleged forced‑labor practices in about 60 countries as part of a push to rebuild country‑by‑country tariffs after the Supreme Court’s 6–3 decision striking down much of his prior IEEPA‑based tariff regime, and a day earlier USTR Jamieson Greer opened separate Section 301 probes into “structural excess capacity” in 16 trading partners, creating a two‑track legal pathway for new tariffs. The administration has already imposed a 10% emergency tariff under Section 122 (has floated 15% but not enacted it, and Section 122 limits such measures to 150 days), Greer said other countries lack strong bans on importing goods made with forced labor that can undercut U.S. firms, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expressed belief the tariff rates could be restored within five months, and the forced‑labor probes cover most major trading partners including China, Canada, Mexico, the EU, U.K., Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and Australia.