U.S. Accuses 16 Trading Partners of Unfair Practices and Opens Investigation

The Trump administration on Wednesday announced a new trade investigation into unfair trading practices by 16 of America’s largest trading partners, as it works to resurrect a system of tariffs recently struck down by the Supreme Court. The trade investigation will look into what the administration called “excess capacity” in the factory sectors of foreign countries, which it said had resulted in overproduction and large and persistent U.S. trade deficits with those nations.

The investigation will target China, the European Union, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, South Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Mexico, Japan and India. Jamieson Greer, the United States Trade Representative, said he had briefed those countries and that the announcement would not come as a surprise. More trade investigations are on the way, he said, potentially into issues including digital services, pharmaceutical pricing and unfair trade in sectors like rice and seafood. The move is likely to further anger America’s trading partners.

Foreign governments have spent months negotiating and making concessions to the Trump administration to reduce previous tariffs, only to have many of those levies overturned by the Supreme Court. The administration is pursuing a patchwork of actions to replace the tariffs that were rejected by the Supreme Court. President Trump has issued a 10 percent global tariff, but that is set to expire in July unless Congress agrees to keep it in place.

The new trade investigations will be carried out under the Trade Act of 1974, a law that allows the United States to impose tariffs in response to unfair trade practices.The administration is required to carry out an investigation and hold consultations and hearings before it can impose those import taxes. Mr. Greer said the trade deals that countries had signed were “independent” of the new investigations. Foreign countries were interested in maintaining their deals, he said, and that the prior commitments they had made “will be considered".

The announcements come as Mr. Trump prepares to travel to China at the end of the month to discuss trade relations and other issues with Xi Jinping, China’s leader. It also comes amid protracted trade discussions with governments including the European Union, whose officials have slowed their work toward a trade deal as they try to understand their new terms of trade.

Commerce Department employees have been looking into new trade investigations using Section 232 on industries including batteries, chemicals, plastics and equipment for telecommunications and the electrical grid.