US accused India, China, EU, and other partners of unfair trade practices.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced yesterday that the Trump administration launched an investigation into 16 trading partners centered on “excess capacity and production in manufacturing” that have led to what it called persistent trade surpluses. The US Trade Representative Office is using Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to carry out the inquiry, which could provide new means for the administration to levy tariffs on these nations in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s ruling last month that tariffs imposed by Trump using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act were unlawful.—HVL