Overview
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on June 24 that if the USTR’s Section 301 studies succeed, tariff rates will “go back to exactly where they were,” tying the outcome of the rulemaking to the return of prior duties.
- The U.S. Trade Representative has proposed ad valorem duties of about 10% or 12.5% on nearly all imports from roughly 60 economies after interim Section 301 findings that cite failures to bar goods made with forced labor.
- USTR has opened accelerated rulemaking with public comments and hearings in early July while separate Section 301 probes target alleged structural excess capacity in about 16 economies.
- The administration is working under a deadline because the temporary 10% global tariffs imposed under Section 122 expire on July 24, creating urgency to finalize a durable Section 301 regime.
- The push follows the Supreme Court’s rejection of IEEPA‑based reciprocal duties and Treasury refunds of that revenue, and analysts project a Section 301 architecture could generate revenue similar to the prior program while drawing diplomatic protest and likely litigation.