US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Marine One as it departs from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC on March 11, 2026.
Brandon Smialowski | AFP | getty images
Trump administration on Wednesday New trade investigation announced China, Mexico, the European Union and more than a dozen other economies, with the goal of replacing President Donald Trump’s reciprocating tariffs, which were recently ruled illegal by the Supreme Court.
The investigation, which will likely expand to more countries, will be conducted under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told this to reporters during a call.
This law allows the US to impose tariffs on goods imported from other countries found to be engaging in unfair trade practices.
The Section 301 tariffs could replace at least some of the reciprocating tariffs on most countries in the world that Trump imposed on them last year without Congress’s permission.
“The president’s trade policy remains the same,” Greer said.
“Protect American jobs and make sure our trade with our trading partners is fair,” he said.
Greer said the Section 301 investigation would cover “the acts, policies, and practices of certain economies related to structural excess capacity and production in manufacturing sectors.”
“We hope this investigation will uncover a variety of unfair trade practices related to excess capacity and production in the manufacturing sector,” he said. “Our view is that major trading partners still have production capacity that is virtually uncorrelated to market incentives for domestic and global demand.”
He said this has led to large and persistent trade surpluses.
Apart from Mexico, China and the EU, the other economies being examined are Japan, India, Taiwan, Vietnam, South Korea, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Thailand.
“We anticipate that there will be other Section 301 investigations on a country-specific basis, or perhaps other tools or investigations may emerge,” Greer said. “I won’t go into much detail.”
Under Section 301, the Office of the Trade Representative will receive written comments on the investigation and hold a hearing. “We will also consult with our trading partners who are subject to this investigation,” Greer said.
He said, “After all of that, USTR, we will have our findings and our analysis, and if necessary, we will propose a responsive action.” “Responsive action can take many forms. It could be tariffs, it could be charges on services, it could be other things.”
The ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., criticized the investigation.
“Donald Trump is fighting to replace his illegal trade taxes with a separate tariff plan to raise prices for Americans,” Wyden said in a statement.
Wyden said, “Trump has no interest in solving real trade problems or stopping China and other trade cheaters from undermining American workers and businesses. He’s just trying to roll back his tariffs any way he can.” “Families are already struggling to afford skyrocketing gas prices due to Trump’s reckless war in Iran, and Republicans are bent on raising the cost of living even further.”
The Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision on February 20 that Trump did not have the authority to impose such tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, as he claimed.
Within hours of that decision, Trump signed an executive order imposing a new 10% “global tariff” under Section 122 of the Trade Act. Section 122 tariffs expire within 150 days.
In an interview with CNBC last week, Treasury Secretary Scott Besant predicted that by August, U.S. tariffs would return to levels before the Supreme Court decision.
Besant said that in the coming months, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the Commerce Department will complete trade-related studies that will allow them to impose more tariffs.
Besant said, “It is my firm belief that the tariff rates will return to their old rate within five months, and these are very disappointing officials.”
“They’ve survived more than 4,000 legal challenges. They’re more slow-moving, but they’re stronger,” he said.