US launches trade probe into China, EU in Trump’s tariffs revival

Economies that will be subject to the inquiry include the EU, China, Singapore and Japan. Read more at straitstimes.com.

US President Donald Trump’s administration started the first of several sweeping trade investigations that set the stage for new tariffs, the centerpiece of a push to replace levies struck down by the US Supreme Court.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced on March 11 that his office would begin a probe into more than a dozen major economies under Section 301 of the Trade Act focused on alleged excess manufacturing capacity.

The investigations, which typically take months to complete, are required for the president to unilaterally place duties on imports from specific countries deemed to employ unfair trading practices.

Economies that will be subject to the inquiry include some of the US’s largest trading partners: China, the European Union, Mexico, India, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. 

Switzerland, Norway, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam and Bangladesh will also be investigated.

“Our view is that key trading partners have developed production capacity that is really untethered from the market incentives of domestic and global demand,” Mr Greer said during a telephone briefing for reporters.