Trump pursues new import taxes

The Trump administration began new tariff hearings this week as it tries to rebuild import taxes the Supreme Court struck down on February 20. (abcnews.com) (dlapiper.com) The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is holding April 28-29 hearings on whether 60 economies failed to block goods made with forced labor. The agency says those investigations could lead to new tariffs under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. (ustr.gov) (abcnews.com) A second Section 301 track covers 16 trading partners, including China, the European Union, Japan, Mexico and India, over what the administration calls structural excess capacity in manufacturing. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer opened that process on March 11. (pbs.org) (federalregister.gov) The legal scramble started after the Supreme Court ruled in Learning Resources v. Trump that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not let a president impose tariffs. The justices said tariff power belongs to Congress unless Congress delegates it clearly. (dlapiper.com) Trump answered that loss by imposing a temporary 10% global tariff under Section 122 of the 1974 trade law. That authority lasts 150 days, and the current duties are set to expire on July 24 unless Congress extends them. (politico.com) (usnews.com) That deadline helps explain the pace. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said before the Section 301 cases were finished that the administration would replace the revenue from the original tariffs with new import taxes. (abcnews.com) The replacement plan is already in court. On April 10, judges on the U.S. Court of International Trade questioned whether Trump had properly used Section 122, which was written for balance-of-payments problems and caps tariffs at 15%. (politico.com) Greer has said he does not want to prejudge the Section 301 investigations, but importers and foreign governments expect the process to end with new duties. Section 301 has a firmer legal footing than the emergency law the Supreme Court rejected, though it also takes more procedure and time. (pbs.org) (abcnews.com) For companies that buy goods overseas, the immediate fact is the calendar: hearings started this week, the temporary tariff expires July 24, and the next round is being built in public. The White House is trying to keep the tariff wall standing while the legal basis changes underneath it. (ustr.gov) (politico.com)