New Section 301 Tariffs Announced

March 11th, the Trump Administration launched the first of what may be many additional tariff plans. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative initiated new Section 301 investigations in production and manufacturing on the following countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, the European Union, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Under this new action, the USTR will be specifically investigating these ‘affected’ products and components: aluminum, automobiles, batteries, cement, chemicals, electronics, energy goods, glass, machine tools, machinery, non-ferrous metals, paper, plastics, processed food and beverages, robotics, satellites, semiconductors, ships, solar modules, steel, and transportation equipment.

Comments will be accepted from March 17 to April 15, with a hearing to be held on May 5. They hope to finalize the results of the investigation before the July 24th expiration of Section 122.