Trump rolls temporary import taxes
- President Donald Trump’s trade team opened Section 301 hearings on April 28 as it races to replace temporary import surcharges due to expire July 24. - The stopgap levy is a 10% global surcharge imposed February 24 under Section 122, after the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s broader tariffs. - More product-by-product tariffs could follow on 60 trading partners, extending a legal pivot after February’s court loss. (apnews.com)
The Trump administration opened new tariff hearings on Monday as it tries to replace a temporary 10% import surcharge that expires on July 24. (apnews.com) (whitehouse.gov) The Office of the United States Trade Representative is using Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to investigate 60 economies over whether they fail to block imports made with forced labor. The public hearing began April 28 at 10 a.m. at the U.S. International Trade Commission and can continue through May 1 if needed. (federalregister.gov) (ustr.gov) Trump turned to that route after the Supreme Court, in February, struck down the broader tariffs he had imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Within hours, he signed a new proclamation imposing a 10% ad valorem surcharge on most imports for 150 days, effective February 24. (apnews.com) (whitehouse.gov) Section 122 is a short-term tool. It lets a president impose a surcharge of as much as 15%, but only for 150 days unless Congress steps in. (whitehouse.gov) (kpmg.com) Section 301 is slower and narrower. Instead of one blanket tariff, it requires an investigation, public comments, hearings, consultations with foreign governments, and then a product-by-product decision on what to tax. (federalregister.gov) (bloomberg.com) That process is already drawing fights over specific goods. Bloomberg reported that companies and governments are filing comments on items including Radio Flyer’s red wagons as trade officials shape the next round of import taxes. (bloomberg.com) The hearing docket has grown quickly. Baker Botts reported that 60 organizations and individuals signed up to testify and more than 450 comments were filed before the hearings opened. (ourtake.bakerbotts.com) U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in March that the investigations would test whether major trading partners have laws and enforcement strong enough to keep forced-labor goods out of their own markets. U.S. law already bars those imports from entering the United States. (ustr.gov) (federalregister.gov) The result is a trade policy that has shifted from broad emergency tariffs to temporary surcharges and now to case-by-case hearings. The next question is whether the administration can turn that legal pivot into a durable tariff regime before July 24. (apnews.com) (whitehouse.gov)
