Trump administration kicks off new process to try to replace tariffs struck down by Supreme Court

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Wednesday opened a new trade investigation into manufacturing in foreign countries — an effort that comes after the Supreme Court overturned President Donald Trump’s previous use of tariffs by declaring an economic emergency.

Trump and his team have made clear they are seeking to replace the hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue lost after the Supreme Court’s ruling in February by using different laws to set new tariffs.

In this case, the administration is opening investigations under Section 301 of the Commerce Act of 1974, which could potentially lead to new import taxes. But U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on a call with reporters Wednesday that he didn’t want to prejudge the outcome of the process.

“The policy remains the same — the tools can change based on, you know, the vagaries of the courts and other things,” Greer said, emphasizing that the goal is to protect American jobs.

Beginning the process of completely replacing Trump’s previous tariffs could result in a return of much of the drama that rocked the global economy last year. Since-rolled-back tariffs have led to new frameworks with the United States’ trading partners — and it’s unclear what impact a new round of import taxes might have on those deals. Greer described the business frameworks as standalone and suggested they were separate from the new investigation.

This new round of tariffs could come against the backdrop of a war in Iran and a midterm election in which Democrats are running against Trump’s Republican allies by emphasizing that the public must repay the tariffs following the Supreme Court ruling.

PHOTOS: Trump administration launches new process to try to replace tariffs struck down by Supreme Court

Greer said the investigation would examine excess industrial capacity and government support that could give foreign companies an unfair advantage over U.S. companies.

Entities under investigation include China, the European Union, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, South Korea, Vietnam, the self-ruled island of Taiwan, Bangladesh, Mexico, Japan and India. The government is pursuing what it sees as persistent trade surpluses with the United States and policies such as subsidies and suppressing workers’ wages, among other factors.

The administration is also launching a Section 301 investigation to ban the importation of goods made with forced labor.

Greer indicated there could be additional Section 301 investigations into issues such as digital services taxes, pharmaceutical drug pricing and ocean pollution, among other possibilities. The Department of Commerce is conducting separate trade investigations under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.

Time constraints weigh on the administration to complete its investigations. The administration imposed 10 percent tariffs on foreign-made goods under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, but these expire after 150 days on July 24. Trump has said he plans to increase that import tax to 15%, but he has not yet done so.

Greer said the administration was “pausing” the new investigation based on the 150-day deadline, saying the goal was to bring “potential options” to Trump as soon as possible.

Greer said the investigations would be separate from trade frameworks announced last year by Trump that set base tariff rates, which led to 15% rates applied to goods from the European Union, Japan and South Korea, among others, that have since been struck down by the Supreme Court. He nevertheless suggested that executives could play a role.

“My sense is that these countries continue to want a deal, and President Trump continues to want the deal,” Greer said, adding that since tariffs are at stake, the commitments countries have made and the implementation of the frameworks would be considered to the extent they “clash” with the requirements of the Section 301 process.

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AP Writer Mae Anderson contributed to this report.