USTR hints at ‘action’ ahead of tariff expiry
NEW DELHI: With the US announcing new tariffs on several products imported from Canada and the 25% tariff on Brazilian goods from Wednesday, all eyes are on the Trump administration as USTR Jamieson Greer promised “some action soon”, days before the current 10% additional tariff on all countries expires.Trump invoked the never used Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 to impose 50% duty on $20 billion Canadian goods, including wine, hockey sticks, cement and other products, while excluding energy, potash, fish and critical minerals.USTR, however, indicated that the administration may resort to the use of Section 301. Last month, USTR had proposed tariffs of up to 12.5% on imports from 60 economies, including India, for their alleged failure to crack down on imports using forced labour.“The US has laws to prohibit trading goods with forced labour,” Greer told CNBC. “Other countries, most don’t have a law. Those that do don’t really enforce it.” He said the proposed 301 tariffs on 60 countries would cover about 99% of US trade.USTR, which is also probing structural excess capacity in over a dozen countries, is yet to come up with the preliminary findings.The Trump administration had resorted to the two probes — both contested by govt – after the US Supreme Court dismissed last year’s “reciprocal tariffs” using emergency powers as illegal, which resulted in the 10% levy on all countries that expires Friday.But higher tariffs are clearly a key element of Trump’s strategy with Greer telling New York Times that it had been “wildly successful”.“At the end of the day, we are winning in changing the trade policy. We’re winning in getting the trade deficit down. We’re winning in re-shoring We’re winning in wages. We’re winning on all these things. So I am happy with where we are and where we’re going,” he said.While India and the US have been in talks for a trade deal, its finalisation will depend on how Trump’s tariffs are implemented in the coming weeks. The two sides had earlier agreed to 18% additional tariff on all Indian exports to the US, but after the US Supreme Court verdict, the deal was not signed.The US is India’s second largest trade partner and the largest destination for exports. In 2025, bilateral goods trade was pegged at nearly $141 billion with India’s exports pegged at $87.3 billion, according to commerce department data.
