Section 301 Investigation

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In March 2026, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) launched two parallel Section 301 investigations: one targeting manufacturing overcapacity across 16 countries (including China, the EU, Japan, India, Mexico, Vietnam, and other major manufactures), and one targeting forced labor enforcement failures across 60 countries. Here are the top seven questions Crowell &…

On February 21, 2025, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced its proposed actions following the Section 301 investigation of China’s targeting of the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors for dominance.

The Section 301 investigation was initiated on April 17, 2024. Following the investigation, USTR determined that China’s targeting of the maritime…

Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 delegates to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) authority to investigate and respond to unfair foreign trade practices that could harm domestic interests. Under Section 301, USTR can act against foreign countries that violate U.S. trade agreements or engage in acts that are “unjustifiable”…

On December 10, 2024, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) initiated an investigation of Nicaragua’s acts, policies, and practices related to labor rights, human rights, and the rule of law. The investigation will be conducted under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. This is the first investigation that USTR has…

As the four-year review of Section 301 duties continues, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) stated last week that the Biden administration will be extending tariff exclusions through May 31, 2024. These exclusions, listed in the USTR’s index, were set to expire on December 31, 2023, but the administration chose to extend…

On Tuesday (Nov. 1, 2022), the Office of the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) released a preview of its questionnaire seeking comments on the effectiveness and impacts of the additional duties levied on Chinese-origin goods enacted under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 (“Section 301 tariffs”).  The Section 301 tariffs, which commenced in…

On July 23, 2021, the U.S. Trade Representative issued a formal determination deciding not to take action against Vietnam in response to their currency practices under Section 301. The investigation, which was initiated in October of 2020 to examine Vietnam’s acts, policies, and practices related to the valuation of their currency, effectively concluded following…

On June 8, 2021, the Senate voted 68 to 32 to approve The American Innovation and Competition Act. Among other pieces of legislation, the omnibus package includes The Trade Act of 2021 which contains provisions to reestablish a Section 301 tariff exclusion and renewal process. Specifically, Division G (The Trade Act of 2021), Title III,…

On June 2, 2021, United States Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai announced the conclusion of the Section 301 Digital Services Taxes (DSTs) investigations on Austria, India, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. The investigation determined to impose additional tariffs of 25 percent on certain products from the six countries, as noted in the Notices…

Last week, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) published two Federal Register notices announcing hearings for the recently initiated Section 301 investigations into Vietnam’s currency valuation practices (85 FR 75397) and import of illegal timber (85 FR 75398). The hearings follow the announcement of the investigations in October of this year and…