Trump rebuilds tariffs via targeted probes
- U.S. Trade Representative hearings opened Tuesday on Trump’s new tariff track, as the administration pivots to Section 301 probes after the Supreme Court blocked broader duties. - The first case covers 60 economies tied to forced-labor enforcement; a second, starting May 5, targets 16 partners over manufacturing overcapacity. - The shift keeps tariff pressure alive before Trump’s temporary Section 122 duties expire in July. (abcnews.com)
The Trump administration opened hearings Tuesday on a new path to tariffs, using trade-law probes after the Supreme Court knocked out its broader 2025 duties. (abcnews.com) (grantthornton.com) The first hearing, running April 28 through May 1 at the U.S. International Trade Commission, covers 60 economies that U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer says do not effectively block imports made with forced labor. (federalregister.gov) (ustr.gov) A second set of hearings starts May 5 and runs, if needed, through May 8. That case targets 16 trading partners, including China, the European Union, Japan, Mexico and India, over what U.S. officials call structural excess capacity in manufacturing. (federalregister.gov) (cbsnews.com) Section 301 is the same 1974 trade law Trump used against China in his first term. It lets the United States impose tariffs or other penalties after an investigation finds foreign practices are unjustifiable, unreasonable or discriminatory. (abcnews.com) (cbsnews.com) That narrower route matters because the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on February 20 that Trump could not use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to put sweeping tariffs on nearly every U.S. trading partner. (grantthornton.com) (cfr.org) After that loss, Trump imposed a temporary 10% global tariff under Section 122, a different law that lasts up to 150 days unless Congress extends it. CBS reported the White House discussed raising that rate to 15%, but said the increase had not been made official. (cbsnews.com) (grantthornton.com) The timing is tight. ABC reported those stopgap Section 122 duties expire in less than three months, and Greer said the administration wants the Section 301 cases finished before the July deadline, without promising that timetable. (abcnews.com) (cbsnews.com) The forced-labor case is the wider net: 60 economies accounting for 99% of U.S. imports, according to ABC’s report on the hearings. The overcapacity case is narrower in count but still covers partners responsible for 70% of U.S. imports, Tax Foundation economist Erica York told ABC. (abcnews.com) Importers and foreign governments are already questioning whether the process is truly open-ended, because Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration would replace lost tariff revenue with new import taxes, including Section 301 duties. (abcnews.com) So the legal theory has changed, but the policy goal has not. Trump’s team is rebuilding tariff authority case by case, with hearings this week and next week serving as the bridge from temporary duties to more durable ones. (abcnews.com) (federalregister.gov)
