US launches sweeping trade probe against dozens of nations

• Beijing denounces move as ‘political manipulation’
• EU to ‘respond firmly’ if actions violate existing pact

WASHINGTON: The Uni­­ted States announced new investigations on Wednes­day into what it considers unfair trade practices by dozens of countries, opening the door to potential penalties such as new tariffs as President Donald Trump seeks to replace duties struck down by the Supreme Court.

The Trump administration is launching separate probes under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, one centred on industrial over­­production and an­­ot­her on the import of goods made with forced labour, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told reporters.

The excess industrial capacity probe targets ma­­jor trading partners, inc­l­u­ding the European Uni­on, China, Japan, India, Mexico, South Korea, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan and Vietnam, and could inflame already simmering trade tensions.

Greer said he seeks to conclude the new probes “as quickly as possible”.

EU, China reaction

Following the annou­n­c­­ement of the new probes, the European Union’s exe­cutive vowed to “respond firmly” to any violation of a key tariff agreement with the United States.

The EU has its own tariff pact with Washington, and the future of that deal has been thrown into qu­­e­stion by the recent Sup­reme Court ruling against Trump’s previous duties.

“We will be seeking further clarity from the US on how the opening of this section 301 investigation would interact with” the EU-US agreement struck last year, EU Commission spokesman Olof Gill said.

“The commission would respond firmly and proportionately to any breach of the joint statement commitments.”

In Beijing, China’s foreign ministry said the new US trade investigations were “political manipulation” and that the central complaint of overcapacity was a “false proposition”.

“China opposes using it as an excuse for political manipulation,” ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a regular news conference, adding that “tariff and trade wars do not serve the interests of any party”.

The sharp rebuke comes ahead of a meeting between US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in France from March 15 to March 16.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2026