▲ This file photo, released by Reuters, shows U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer arriving for U.S. President Donald Trump's State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Feb. 24, 2026.

US-trade investigation

U.S. to initiate Section 301 trade investigation into S. Korea, China, Japan, 13 other economies: USTR

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, March 11 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump's administration will open a trade inquiry into South Korea, China, Japan and 13 other economies to uncover "unfair" trade practices related to "structural" excess capacity and production, a move that might result in tariffs, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said Wednesday.

In a press call, USTR Jamieson Greer said that the Trump administration will publish a Federal Register notice initiating an investigation under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act -- a legal provision that allows the USTR to investigate unfair foreign trade practices on a country-by-country basis.

The announcement came as the administration is pushing to replace the invalidated country-specific "reciprocal" tariffs that were rolled out under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The Supreme Court struck down the IEEPA tariffs last month.

"This investigation will examine acts, policies and practices of certain economies relating to structural excess capacity and production in manufacturing sectors," Greer said. "We expect that the investigation will uncover a variety of unfair trading practices linked to excess capacity and production."

The trading partners that will be subject to the investigation are South Korea, China, India, Japan, the European Union, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, Bangladesh and Mexico, according to the USTR.

Greer said that the Trump administration's view is that key trading partners have developed production capacity that is "not aligned with the market incentives of domestic and global demand," leading to "overproduction, persistent trade surpluses and underutilized manufacturing capacity."

"The investigation will focus on economies where we see evidence of structural excess capacity through indicators such as persistent trade surpluses, bilateral surpluses with the United States, or unused and underutilized production capacity," he said.

He pointed out that the investigation will look into policies that promote production and exports "detached from market demand," including subsidies, suppressed domestic wages, non-commercial activities by state-owned enterprises.

He also mentioned market barriers that prevent foreign exports from entering markets, inadequate environmental or labor protections, subsidized lending, financial repression and currency practices.

"At this stage we are simply initiating the investigation. Our goal is to better understand the drivers of structural excess capacity and then determine the appropriate response," he said. "These issues have been concerns for a long time and we believe the process will allow us to address them more precisely."

He elaborated on the investigation process, which he said will be "public and transparent."

The interagency Section 301 committee will hold public hearings and solicit comments from interested parties. The USTR will open a docket for written submissions and requests to appear at hearings.

The docket is expected to open around Tuesday, with the deadline for submitting comments and requests set for April 15. Public hearings are expected to take place around May 5. Seven days after the final hearing date, concerned parties will be able to submit rebuttal comments.

Once the USTR has reviewed the written submissions, held hearings and received rebuttal comments, and after consulting with the trading partners involved, the USTR will reach conclusions and propose responsive actions if necessary, Greer said.

"Responsive actions can take several forms. They may include tariffs, fees on services, negotiations or other measures," he said.

The USTR also said that the administration will initiate a second Section 301 investigation, likely no earlier than Thursday afternoon, to focus on bans on imports of goods made with forced labor and on whether other countries have implemented similar measures.

The Section 301 investigations have been foreordained as the Trump administration has repeatedly stressed their focus on reconstructing Trump's tariff policy following the high court's ruling against IEEPA tariffs.

Earlier, Greer said that the investigations are expected to cover "most major trading partners" and address areas of concern, such as industrial excess capacity, forced labor, pharmaceutical pricing practices, discrimination against U.S. technology companies and digital goods and services, to name a few.

(END)

[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]