Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. §§ 2411–2420) gives the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) authority to investigate foreign government acts, policies, or practices that are judged to violate a trade agreement or to be "unjustifiable, unreasonable, or discriminatory" and that burden US commerce. If the USTR makes an affirmative determination, the statute permits a range of responses, including suspending trade concessions, imposing duties or import restrictions, and entering binding agreements with the foreign government to eliminate the practice.
Investigations can be self-initiated by the USTR or launched in response to a petition from an interested party. The statute sets statutory deadlines—generally 12 months for most cases and up to 18 months for cases involving a trade agreement that must first be referred to dispute settlement.
Section 301 was the United States' principal unilateral trade-enforcement tool in the 1980s, used heavily against Japan, the European Community, Brazil, and South Korea. Its prominence declined after the 1995 creation of the WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding, which Washington largely committed to using instead. In 2000, a WTO panel (DS152, US – Sections 301–310) found the statute not inconsistent with WTO rules, relying on a US executive statement that Section 301 would be applied consistently with WTO obligations.
The provision returned to the center of US trade policy in 2017–2018, when the Trump administration opened a Section 301 investigation into Chinese practices on technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation. The resulting findings led to tariffs on roughly $370 billion of Chinese imports, which were largely retained by the Biden administration and selectively raised in 2024 on electric vehicles, batteries, semiconductors, and solar cells. Related provisions include Special 301 (annual IP review) and Super 301 (priority practices identification), added by the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988.
Example
In August 2017, USTR Robert Lighthizer initiated a Section 301 investigation into China's technology transfer and IP practices, leading to tariffs imposed beginning in July 2018.
Frequently asked questions
Section 301 targets unfair foreign trade practices and is administered by USTR, while Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 lets the Commerce Department restrict imports on national-security grounds, as used for steel and aluminum tariffs in 2018.
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