The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced this week the initiation of Section 301 investigations into the trade practices of 60 economies.  This action follows the Supreme Court’s February 20 ruling that struck down the administration’s IEEPA tariffs as illegal.

Economies subject to these investigations:
1.    Algeria
2.    Angola
3.    Argentina
4.    Australia
5.    The Bahamas
6.    Bahrain
7.    Bangladesh
8.    Brazil
9.    Cambodia
10.  Canada
11.  Chile
12.  China, People’s Republic of 
13.  Colombia
14.  Costa Rica
15.  Dominican Republic
16.  Ecuador
17.  Egypt
18.  El Salvador
19.  European Union
20.  Guatemala
21.  Guyana
22.  Honduras
23.  Hong Kong, China 
24.  India
25.  Indonesia
26.  Iraq
27.  Israel
28.  Japan
29.  Jordan
30.  Kazakhstan
31.  Kuwait
32.  Libya
33.  Malaysia
34.  Mexico
35.  Morocco
36.  New Zealand
37.  Nicaragua
38.  Nigeria
39.  Norway
40.  Oman
41.  Pakistan
42.  Peru
43.  Philippines
44.  Qatar
45.  Russia
46.  Saudi Arabia
47.  Singapore
48.  South Africa
49.  South Korea
50.  Sri Lanka
51.  Switzerland
52.  Taiwan
53.  Thailand
54.  Trinidad and Tobago
55.  Türkiye
56.  United Arab Emirates
57.  United Kingdom
58.  Uruguay
59.  Venezuela
60.  Vietnam

As authorized under Section 301, the investigations will focus on structural excess, manufacturing capacity, unfair trade practices that disadvantage U.S. producers, and goods made with forced labor.

Here is the proposed timeline:

  • March 17: USTR opens public comment docket
  • April 15: Deadline for written comments
  • May 5: Public hearing begins
  • July 24: Current 10% global tariff (Section 122) expires

Treasury Secretary Bessent has indicated that by August, tariff levels are expected to return to where they were prior to the Supreme Court ruling.