The below was taken in part from the NCBFAA:

On March 11th, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) announced the initiation of investigations regarding the acts, policies, and practices of various economies under Section 301(b) of the 1974 Trade Act of 1974 relating to “structural excess capacity and production” in manufacturing sectors. The investigations will determine whether those acts, policies, and practices are unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or restrict US commerce, according to the USTR.

The economies subject to the Section 301 investigations include China, the European Union, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, South Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Mexico, Japan, and India. 

“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,” US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement.

“An illustrative list of sectors plagued by excess capacity and production includes aluminum, automobiles, batteries, cement, chemicals, electronics, energy goods, glass, machine tools, machinery, non-ferrous metals, paper, plastics, processed food and beverages, robotics, satellites, semiconductors, ships, solar modules, steel, and transportation equipment. In many of these sectors, the United States has lost substantial domestic production capacity or has fallen worryingly behind foreign competitors.”

USTR said a docket for comments regarding the investigations will open on March 17th. To be assured of consideration, interested persons should submit written comments, requests to appear at the hearing, along with a summary of the testimony, by April 15th. USTR will hold a hearing in connection with these investigations starting on May 5th.

RIM logistics, ltd. will continue to closely monitor this evolving situation and provide updates as necessary. Please reach out to your RIM representative if you have any further questions.