US launches probe into trading partners including the EU, China and India

The United States has initiated a new investigation into unfair trade practice among major trading partners, including India, China, the EU, and several others, following a Supreme Court ruling against President Donald Trump's tariff policies. On Wednesday, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said that the Section 301 unfair trade practices probe could lead to new tariffs against countries including China, the European Union, India, Japan, South Korea and Mexico as early as this summer. The probe could allow the US to impose tarrif on good from any of the countries found to have engaged in unfair trade practices. According to Greer, the US hoped to conclude the investigations before the new temporary tariffs imposed by Trump in late February expire in July. Other countries being investigated include Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Switzerland and Norway. Canada, which is the US's second-largest trading partner, was not mentioned as a target of the probe. "So these investigations will focus on economies that we have evidence appear to exhibit structural excess capacity and production in various manufacturing sectors, such as through larger persistent trade surpluses or underutilised or unused capacity," Greer told reporters on a conference call, according to Reuters. Greer also said that he would initiate another probe under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to ban US imports of goods produced with forced labour. That investigation covers more than 60 countries. He laid out a swift timeline for the excess capacity probe, with public comments accepted through April 15 and a public hearing slated for about May 5. The probes offer the Trump administration a chance to rebuild a credible tariff threat against trading partners to keep them negotiating and implement trade deals that were cut to reduce his higher tariff rates under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Greer said the new probes, long telegraphed by administration officials, should come as no surprise to trading partners, and they should stick to their deals, although he stopped short of ⁠saying that this would make them immune to all new Section 301 tariffs. He said that Trump was determined to pursue tariffs and "will find a way to deal with unfair trading practices. He'll find a way to get our trade deficit down. He'll find a way to protect US manufacturing. We have a lot of tools to do it," Greer said. Indian exports to the United States face a reduced 10% reciprocal tariff for 150 days from February 24, after President Trump announced a temporary global import surcharge following a US Supreme Court ruling that struck down his earlier sweeping duties.