The US Trade Representative’s office announced Wednesday that the United States will launch a trade investigation into alleged unfair manufacturing practices by India and 15 other major economies, the latest move by the Trump administration to rebuild tariff pressure after the Supreme Court struck down the centerpiece of the global trade agenda last month.
The measure, formally known as a Section 301 investigation under the Trade Act of 1974, could give the U.S. government the power to impose new tariffs, restrict imports and suspend trade agreement privileges against economies found to be engaging in unfair trade practices. The investigation will focus on structural industrial excess capacity — where state-subsidized manufacturing output exceeds domestic demand and floods global markets, displacing U.S. production.
“The investigations will determine whether these actions, policies and practices are unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or restrict US commerce,” the US Trade Representative said in a statement. The sixteen economies mentioned are China, the European Union, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, South Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Mexico, Japan and India. Canada, the United States’ second-largest trading partner, was noticeably absent from the list.
Trade Representative Jamison Greer has framed the investigation as pivotal to restoring America’s industrial base. He added: “The United States will no longer sacrifice its industrial base to other countries that may export their excess energy and production problems to us. Today’s investigations underscore President Trump’s commitment to restoring critical supply chains and creating good-paying jobs for American workers across our manufacturing sectors.” Greer added that the United States has lost “significant domestic production capacity” in many sectors or has “fallen worryingly behind foreign competitors.”
The investigation comes five weeks after the US Supreme Court on February 20 struck down sweeping global tariffs imposed by Trump under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, as exceeding his legal authority.
Subsequently, the administration invoked Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to impose a temporary global tariff of 10%, valid for 150 days and scheduled to expire in July. Trump later raised the tariff rate to the legal limit of 15%.
according to ReutersGreer said he hopes the Section 301 investigations — including proposed remedies — will be completed before the Section 122 definitions expire in July, underscoring the urgency behind the accelerated timeline. Section 301 investigations — more legally robust, having withstood court challenges during Trump’s first term — are widely seen as the administration’s primary means of rebuilding a credible and lasting tariff threat before that deadline.
Unlike Section 122, Section 301 places neither maximum tariff levels nor time limit, although it does require a formal investigative process including public hearings. It has previously been used extensively against China — 25% tariffs on Chinese goods since Trump’s first term were backed by a Section 301 investigation — and separate Section 301 investigations targeting China and Brazil are already underway.
Greer said the new investigations were sent by the administration a long time ago and should not come as a surprise to business partners. He added that they must adhere to their existing deals, though he stopped short of saying that compliance would make them immune to all the new Section 301 definitions.
India and the United States have been working toward an interim bilateral trade agreement based on a joint statement issued on February 6, under which Washington committed to reducing additional tariffs on Indian goods to 18% in exchange for preferential market access.
These talks were thrown into limbo after the Supreme Court ruling, with India’s chief negotiator postponing a scheduled visit to Washington, and both sides saying they needed time to evaluate the implications of the ruling.
On Thursday, Greer said he would launch a separate Section 301 investigation targeting goods produced with forced labor, covering more than 60 countries — that investigation and the countries it will target have yet to be named.
The United States has already restricted imports of solar panels and other goods from China’s Xinjiang region under the Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act, and the new investigation could expand such measures to other countries.
The investigations also come as Trump officials led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent prepare to meet their Chinese counterparts in Paris this week, ahead of an expected meeting between Trump and Xi in Beijing at the end of March. The Supreme Court ruling had effectively reduced US tariffs on Chinese goods by 10 percentage points, reducing Washington’s influence — and the Section 301 investigations are aimed in part at restoring it.
The US Trade Representative said the investigation into overcapacity will open for public comment and consultations next week, and a public hearing is scheduled for May 5.
