{"id":2579514,"date":"2026-03-13T12:30:01","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T16:30:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ustr-investigating-60-countries-over-unfair-trade-practices\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T12:33:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T16:33:33","slug":"ustr-investigating-60-countries-over-unfair-trade-practices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ustr-investigating-60-countries-over-unfair-trade-practices\/","title":{"rendered":"USTR investigating 60 countries over unfair trade practices"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fustr-investigating-60-countries-over-unfair-trade-practices%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2579514&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The U.S. Trade Representative has launched sweeping Section 301 investigations into 60 economies over their failures to ban import-produced goods made with forced labor, including Canada, China, India, Iraq, Mexico, South Korea, and the European Union. The investigations aim to determine whether these governments have taken sufficient steps to prohibit forced labor and how such failures affect U.S. workers and businesses, with the USTR describing it as a tool to <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >address unfair foreign trade practices<\/a> that burden U.S. commerce.<\/p>\n<p>Officials say these investigations are intended as an choice to tariffs, which were challenged by a Supreme Court ruling after a previous governance imposed a 10% universal tariff under a different authority and threatened to raise it to 15% (set to last untill July).<\/p>\n<p>Public hearings on the 60-country Section 301 investigations are slated for April 28 and may continue through May 1 after consultations with the listed economies.<\/p>\n<p>The announcement followed the launch of a narrower set of Section 301 investigations concerning structural excess capacity and production in manufacturing, involving 16 countries.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">USTR opens investigations into 60 countries over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President Trump\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">unfair trade practices<\/a><\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2531593\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ustr\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"2136\">U.S. Trade Representative<\/a> Office opened sweeping Section 301 <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/investigations\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"62\">investigations<\/a> into 60 countries over their failures to ban the importation of goods produced with forced labor.<\/p>\n<p>Under the Trade Act, Section 301(b) targets unfair <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/trade\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"347\">trade<\/a> practices from abroad that are deemed unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or otherwise restrict U.S. commerce.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/economy\/4491038\/trump-administration-believes-economic-policies-pay-off-2026-byron-york\/\">Trump administration believes economic policies will &#8216;pay off&#8217; in 2026: Byron York<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/travel\/4490376\/tsa-shutdown-airport-security-lines\/\">Airport security strains and TSA lines grow as Congress shows little urgency to end DHS shutdown<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/economy\/4489545\/trump-iran-war-override-voter-concern-oil-price\/\">Trump gambles quick, victorious war with Iran will override voter concerns on oil prices<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/trump-administration\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"339\">Trump administration<\/a> believes that may be true of 60 economies worldwide. Among the nations on the list are Canada, China, India, Iraq, Mexico, and South Korea. The European Union, with its 27 member states, is also being targeted.<\/p>\n<p>USTR says the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-looks-to-spin-the-trade-wheel-even-faster-in-term-two-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Trump looks to spin the trade wheel even faster in term two - Washington Examiner\">countries aren&#038;rsquo<\/a>;t doing enough to impose and enforce measures to ban the production of imported goods with forced labor.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;For too long, American workers and firms have been forced to compete against foreign producers who may have an artificial cost advantage gained from the scourge of forced labor,&rdquo; USTR Ambassador Jamieson Greer <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/ustr.gov\/about\/policy-offices\/press-office\/press-releases\/2026\/march\/ustr-initiates-60-section-301-investigations-relating-failures-take-action-forced-labor\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/ustr.gov\/about\/policy-offices\/press-office\/press-releases\/2026\/march\/ustr-initiates-60-section-301-investigations-relating-failures-take-action-forced-labor\">said in a statement<\/a> late Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;These investigations will determine whether foreign governments have taken sufficient steps to prohibit the importation of goods produced with forced labor and how the failure to eradicate these abhorrent practices impacts U.S. workers and businesses,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p>Trade experts see the newly launched investigations as an alternative to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-rules-against-biden-doj-in-high-stakes-jan-6-case-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"... rules against Biden DOJ in high-stakes Jan. 6 case - Washington Examiner\">administration&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/tariffs\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"584\">tariffs<\/a>, which were struck down by the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/supreme-court\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"203\">Supreme Court<\/a> in a highly anticipated case last month.<\/p>\n<p>The ruling applied to tariffs invoked under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"4\">Donald Trump<\/a> worked around this restriction by imposing a universal 10% tariff, this time under Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act. Shortly thereafter, he threatened to raise the rate to 15%. The 10% tariffs are set to last until July.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/4481544\/legal-war-over-trump-tariffs-still-raging-despite-supreme-court-ruling\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/4481544\/legal-war-over-trump-tariffs-still-raging-despite-supreme-court-ruling\/\">LEGAL WAR OVER TRUMP TARIFFS STILL RAGING DESPITE SUPREME COURT RULING<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>USTR is scheduled to hold public hearings related to the Section 301 investigations on April 28, just over six weeks from now, after consulting with the listed foreign economies. The hearings may last until May 1, given the large number of countries under investigation.<\/p>\n<p>The announcement came one day after USTR launched <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/ustr.gov\/about\/policy-offices\/press-office\/press-releases\/2026\/march\/ustr-initiates-section-301-investigations-relating-structural-excess-capacity-and-production\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/ustr.gov\/about\/policy-offices\/press-office\/press-releases\/2026\/march\/ustr-initiates-section-301-investigations-relating-structural-excess-capacity-and-production\">new Section 301 investigations<\/a> regarding structural excess capacity and production in manufacturing sectors. That set of investigations is much smaller in scope, with only 16 countries facing scrutiny.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>USTR launches 60-country probe over forced labor goods<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2159,"featured_media":2579515,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AP26043809158585.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[75739,74267,75738],"class_list":["post-2579514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-60-countries","tag-trade-policy-2","tag-ustr-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AP26043809158585.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2579514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2159"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2579514"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2579514\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2579518,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2579514\/revisions\/2579518"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2579515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2579514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2579514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2579514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}