The 16 US trading partners hit by Trump's '301' probes

RiddleMaster · 2026-03-12T04:46:21+00:00

The U.S. is investigating unfair trade practices from 16 trading partners, aiming to re-establish tariffs deemed illegal by the Supreme Court. The inquiry focuses on nations with substantial trade surpluses against the U.S.

RiddleMaster

2026-03-12 04:46:21

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March 11 (Reuters) - The United States on Wednesday said it was launching unfair trade practice investigations into 16 ‌key trading partners, part of an urgent effort by President Donald Trump’s administration to restore tariffs recently struck down by the U.S. Supreme ⁠Court as illegal.

The probes are being conducted under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which empowers the U.S. Trade Representative to impose tariffs or other retaliatory measures against trading partners determined to employ ‌unfair ⁠trade practices.

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The administration alleges the 16 all employ policies that disadvantage U.S. goods producers, resulting in all but one ⁠of them running substantial goods trade surpluses with the U.S.

Here are the 16 subject ⁠to the investigation:

| Country/Area | Goods trade surplus/deficit 2025 ($ mln) | Goods trade surplus/deficit 2024 ($ mln) | Change ($ ⁠mln) | | European Union | 218,750 | 235,874 | -17,124 | | China | 202,071 | 295,515 | -93,444 | | Mexico | 196,913 | 171,491 | 25,422 | | Vietnam | 178,183 | 123,457 | 54,726 | | Taiwan | 146,756 | 73,718 | 73,038 | | Thailand | 71,856 | 45,492 | 26,364 | | Japan | 63,883 | 69,392 | -5,509 | | India | 58,216 | 45,801 | 12,415 | | Korea, South | 56,416 | 65,967 | -9,551 | | Switzerland | 34,304 | 38,283 | -3,979 | | Malaysia | 30,791 | 24,854 | 5,937 | | Indonesia | 23,716 | 17,893 | 5,823 | | Cambodia | 14,928 | 12,327 | 2,601 | | Bangladesh | 7,146 | 6,063 | 1,083 | | Norway | 2,069 | 2,043 | 26 | | Singapore | -3,553 | -1,855 | -1,698 |

Source: U.S. Census Bureau trade data

Reporting by Dan Burns in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Suggested Topics:
China
Judiciary
Supreme Court of the United States

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