USTR opens two-day tariff hearings

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative opened public hearings Tuesday on Section 301 investigations into 60 economies over forced-labor import enforcement. (ustr.gov) The hearings are being held April 28 and April 29 in the main hearing room of the U.S. International Trade Commission at 500 E Street SW in Washington, starting at 10 a.m. Eastern. USTR said the sessions are on the record, but they are not being livestreamed and outside video recording is barred. (ustr.gov) These cases are not a broad vote on all tariffs. They are Section 301 investigations, a trade-law process USTR uses to decide whether foreign government practices are unreasonable or discriminatory and whether duties or import restrictions should follow. (ustr.gov) The forced-labor investigation was launched on March 12 and asks whether 60 trading partners failed to impose and effectively enforce bans on goods made with forced labor. USTR’s notice says the agency is weighing possible duties, import restrictions, and the aggregate level of trade any remedy would cover. (ustr.gov 1) (ustr.gov 2) People who asked to testify had to file by April 15 and are limited to five minutes of remarks, with possible questions from the Section 301 Committee. USTR said written comments go through dockets USTR-2026-0133 and USTR-2026-0134 on its comments portal. (ustr.gov) The April 28-29 hearings cover the forced-labor cases, not the separate manufacturing overcapacity probe USTR opened on March 11. That companion investigation targets 16 economies, including China, the European Union, Japan, India, Mexico and Vietnam. (ustr.gov 1) (ustr.gov 2) The forced-labor probe is broader in country count. USTR said it covers 60 economies, and Reuters reported last week that the hearings were part of ongoing unfair-trade investigations into dozens of countries suspected of failing to act against imports made with forced labor. (ustr.gov) (usnews.com) The immediate next step is a transcript, not a tariff order. USTR said a full transcript will be posted after the hearings, and the Section 301 record will then feed whatever trade action the administration decides to pursue. (ustr.gov)