CRS, Legal Limits of §301 Tariffs in Forced Labor and Excess Capacity Investigations

USTR initiated two §301 investigations in March 2026-one targeting 60 trading partners over forced labor import prohibitions and one targeting 16 partners over structural excess manufacturing capacity-proposing tariffs of 10-12.5% on most U.S. imports. A CRS Legal Sidebar published July 21, 2026 outlines statutory requirements, open legal questions under the APA and major questions doctrine, and Congress's...