Viernes 20 de marzo del 2026

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on March 11 announced the initiation of investigations under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 relating to “structural excess capacity and production in manufacturing sectors.” The investigations will focus on whether the targeted governments’ acts, policies, and practices are unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or restrict U.S. commerce, as laid out in the statute. The investigations will focus on China, the European Union, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Mexico, Japan, and India. Greer stated:

“The Trump Administration’s reindustrialization 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.”

Forced Labor: The next day, USTR initiated Section 301 investigations of 60 economies to determine whether they have imposed and effectively enforced a ban on the importation of goods produced with forced labor. The list of economies subject to these investigations includes 60 of the largest U.S. trading partners.

Continuity, but Don’t Prejudge? The administration has emphasized the desire for continuity in U.S. tariff policy, the invalidation of the IEEPA tariffs notwithstanding. Greer told the press on March 11: “The tools may change, depending on the vagaries of courts and other things, but the policy remains the same.”

On the other hand, Greer added that USTR cannot “prejudge” the outcome of the investigations: “It can be tariffs. It can be fees on services. It can be other things. The president can direct USTR and other agencies to try to get to the bottom of these issues. USTR can do negotiations,” he said.

Dissenting Voice: Senate Finance Committee ranking member Ron Wyden (D-OR) was critical: “Trump isn’t interested in solving real trade problems or stopping China and other trade cheats from undercutting U.S. workers and businesses. He’s trying to put his tariffs back in place any way he can.”

Not Just Tax Day: A docket for comments on the manufacturing overcapacity probe will open on March 17, with comments and requests to testify at the related hearing due by April 15. The hearing will begin on May 5. A copy of the related Federal Register notice is available here.

For the forced labor investigations, the due date for comments and requests to testify at the related hearing is also April 15. The hearing will begin April 28. A copy of the related Federal Register notice is available here.