ISLAMABAD: The United States Trade Representative has launched a Section 301 investigation into India and other countries regarding structural excess capacity in manufacturing, evaluating whether these practices unfairly impact US commerce, according to a statement released by the Office of the United States Trade Representative on Wednesday.
“Today, United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced the initiation of investigations regarding the acts, policies, and practices of various economies under Section 301(b) of the Trade Act of 1974 relating to structural excess capacity and production in manufacturing sectors,” the statement said.
It added that the “investigations will determine whether those acts, policies, and practices are unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or restrict US commerce.”
According to the statement, India and other US trading partners are subject to these investigations.
“The United States will no longer sacrifice its industrial base to other countries that may be exporting their problems with excess capacity and production to us. Today’s investigations underscore President Trump’s commitment to reshore critical supply chains and create good-paying jobs for American workers across our manufacturing sectors,” said Ambassador Greer.
Structural excess capacity and production
The statement quoted the ambassador as stating, “The Trump Administration’s reindustrialization efforts continue to face significant challenges due to foreign economies’ structural excess capacity and production in manufacturing sectors. Across numerous sectors, many US trading partners are producing more goods than they can consume domestically.”
“This overproduction displaces existing US domestic production or prevents investment and expansion in US manufacturing production that otherwise would have been brought online. In many sectors, the United States has lost substantial domestic production capacity or has fallen worryingly behind foreign competitors.”
Section 301
Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (Trade Act), is designed to address unfair foreign practices affecting US commerce, the statement said.
An investigation under Section 301(b) of the Trade Act examines whether the acts, policies, or practices of a foreign country are unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or restrict US commerce, it added.
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