{"id":1527,"date":"2026-03-16T10:40:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T10:40:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/?p=1527"},"modified":"2026-03-16T10:40:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T10:40:09","slug":"asia-tries-to-respond-to-trumps-section-301-probes-which-could-pave-the-way-for-new-tariffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/?p=1527","title":{"rendered":"Asia tries to respond to Trump’s Section 301 probes, which could pave the way for new tariffs"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

After the U.S. Supreme Court struck down much of President Donald Trump\u2019s tariff regime in February, he threatened to use other legal powers to reimpose import duties on the rest of the world. The world got the first indication of how sweeping those measures would be last week, when the U.S. opened two trade investigations on dozens of countries. Together, the two Section 301 probes\u2014the first on \u201cexcess manufacturing capacity,\u201d the second on not doing enough to stop the import of goods made using forced labor\u2014cover 60 different economies, including key trading partners like China, India, Mexico and the European Union.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On Monday, the Chinese commerce ministry condemned the investigations as \u201cextremely \u200bunilateral, arbitrary \u200band discriminatory, and \u200ba typical protectionist act\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe \u200cU.S. has once again abused the 301 investigation process to override domestic law over international rules,\u201d a Chinese spokesperson said. \u201cWe urge the U.S. to immediately correct its \u200bwrong practices, and meet China halfway.\u201d<\/p>\n

U.S. and Chinese officials are currently meeting in Paris to hash out the agenda for a meeting between Trump and China President Xi Jinping in early April, even as Trump said he might postpone his visit in an interview with the Financial Times, and demanded Beijing help protect ships traveling through the closed Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n

Other Asian governments are slowly formulating their response to the new trade investigations.<\/p>\n

Singapore\u2019s Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said in a media statement that it would \u201cengage the USTR\u201d on the new Section 301 investigations, and disputed its claim that it maintained a large trade surplus with the U.S.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Taiwan, which was listed in both probes, said it remained \u201cconfident\u201d the investigation wouldn\u2019t affect the terms of its U.S. trade deal, agreed last month.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is the government\u2019s abiding goal to bring labor standards in line with international norms,\u201d Taiwan\u2019s cabinet wrote in a press statement released Friday.<\/p>\n

Awkwardly, South Korea\u2019s government approved $350 billion in new U.S. investments on March 12, after the U.S. launched its probe of the country\u2019s \u201cexcess manufacturing capacity.\u201d The investment pledge was part of the East Asian country\u2019s trade deal with the U.S. announced last year.<\/p>\n

Other countries are taking a more forceful approach. On March 15, Malaysia\u2019s minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani, called the country\u2019s trade deal with the U.S. \u201cnull and void.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not on hold, it is no longer there,\u201d Datuk Seri told Malaysian reporters at the New Straits Times. \u201cIf [the U.S. claims] it is due to a trade surplus, they must specify the industry involved. They cannot impose tariffs on a blanket basis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who in Asia was hit by the Section 301 probes?<\/p>\n

Asia has been hit especially hard by Trump\u2019s sweeping trade investigations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The first investigation, announced on March 11, accused 16 global economies of maintaining \u201cexcess manufacturing capacity.\u201d The majority of countries targeted are in Asia, including regional giants like Japan and China, and Southeast Asian nations like Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Cambodia.<\/p>\n

\u201cAsian governments are extremely interested in how this latest trade initiative unfolds,\u201d Deborah Elms, head of trade policy at the Hinrich Foundation, tells Fortune. \u201cMost Asian governments named have in place a trade agreement with the Trump administration, and will want to know how a Section 301 case determination might affect them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many of the economies under scrutiny are export\u2011led, relying on foreign demand to sustain manufacturing and jobs. \u201cMuch of Asia has been very successful selling into the U.S.,\u201d Elms said. \u201cBut that leads to high goods trade imbalances, especially if the domestic market is smaller or poorer than the U.S., and imports less stuff from them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just one day later, the U.S. followed up with a second investigation, now covering 60 countries and accusing them of failing to ban the import of goods made with forced labor. The list spans every major region, naming Central and South American nations such as Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and Venezuela, as well as U.S. allies including Canada and Israel.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmerican workers and firms have been forced to compete against foreign producers who may have an artificial cost advantage gained from the scourge of forced labor,\u201d U.S. Trade Representative \u200bJamieson Greer said in a press statement. The investigations will determine whether foreign governments have taken sufficient steps to prohibit the import of goods produced with forced labor and how that could affect U.S. firms.<\/p>\n

Section 301 allows the USTR to investigate and penalize foreign countries for \u201cunjustifiable, unreasonable, or discriminatory\u201d trade practices. The law has a more stringent regulatory period, which means the procedures must be open for public comment. Previous 301 investigations have taken close to a year to complete, yet Greer has stated that new tariffs could be imposed within five months.<\/p>\n

Since the Supreme Court\u2019s ruling, Trump has imposed a blanket 10% tariff on U.S. imports using Section 122, which allows the president to impose tariffs without Congressional approval for up to 150 days.<\/p>\n

#Asia #respond #Trumps #Section #probes #pave #tariffs<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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