Trump Administration Begins Trade Investigation As Way To Charge Tariffs
WASHINGTON – The Trump administration has begun investigating allegations of unfair trade practices among traders around the world, in order to impose tariffs that will replace emergency tariffs that the Supreme Court struck down.
“The United States will no longer sacrifice its industrial base to other countries that may be sending us their problems with excess capacity and production,” said US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer when he announced an investigation into alleged overproduction of goods in China, Mexico and Europe.
The investigation is one way for President Donald Trump to continue to raise tariffs. Trump has said the tariffs are important to the country to fund the government and is threatening to impose them as a way to pressure countries to reach trade deals and companies to make their products in the United States.
The economies under this investigation are: China, Mexico, European Union, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Japan and India.
Greer said US manufacturing faces challenges because trading partners produce more than they can consume at home.
“This overproduction either displaces US domestic production or prevents investment and increased production of US products that would otherwise be brought online,” Greer said.
Public comment on the investigation is due on April 15 and the agency will hold a hearing starting on May 5.
What did the Supreme Court decide?
The Supreme Court ruled on February 20 that Trump was not authorized to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, which mandated the president until April 2025. Trump called the decision disappointing but said he could find other ways to impose tariffs.
The high court’s ruling left a $3 trillion hole in federal spending over the next decade from expected cuts in imports and reduced debt payments, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
Thousands of companies have filed lawsuits seeking refunds after paying unauthorized taxes. The US Court of International Trade is weighing how to handle about $166 billion in refunds from about 330,000 importers. Customs and Border Protection official Brandon Lord told the court that “this program will require minimal deliveries from importers.”
But other provisions would allow Trump to impose tariffs, as he did on steel and aluminum, which were not affected by the decision.
Immediately after the decision, Trump imposed 10% tariffs on the world under the Trade Act of 1974. But that type of tax only lasts 150 days, unless Congress votes to extend the policy.
The Commerce Department may launch an investigation into the tariffs
Another tariff option falls under another section of the Trade Act, which is what the administration announced it was pursuing on March 11. The law allows Trump to impose tariffs after the US Trade Representative investigates allegations of unfair trade practices.
Another way for Trump to impose tariffs is under the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, if the Commerce Department conducts an investigation and finds trade would harm national security.
This article first appeared in USA TODAY: Trump administration has launched trade probe as a way to impose tariffs.
Reporting by Bart Jansen, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
