The United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer stated on Tuesday that the US plans to complete several trade investigations within five months, which will allow the Trump administration to implement new tariffs to replace those overturned by the Supreme Court.
Greer’s announcement on Tuesday provided the clearest timeline to date for the White House to rebuild the Trump tariff system. Following the Supreme Court’s ruling on February 20 regarding the president’s tariff policy, a global benchmark tariff was announced that can be maintained for up to 150 days without congressional approval.
During a meeting at the White House between Trump and German Chancellor Merkel on Tuesday, Greer was also in attendance. He said, “By the end of the five-month deadline, we will have completed all investigations. We know that some countries have signed trade agreements with the US and are very eager to maintain those agreements.”
Greer stressed the need to investigate all unfair trade practices in order to “ensure that we protect the economic security of the United States.” The trade representative stated that these investigations will be conducted under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows the White House to impose tariffs on foreign countries deemed to restrict US trade.
The US has already conducted Section 301 investigations on China, Brazil, and Nicaragua. Greer did not disclose which other countries would be targeted for investigation.
“We are conducting various studies and will impose different tariffs on different countries,” President Trump said.
The Supreme Court’s ruling has triggered a new round of global trade uncertainty, with US trading partners eager to understand how Trump plans to advance his tariff policies. Officials from several major economies have expressed concerns that Trump’s plan may violate tariff reduction agreements they have already reached.
In addition to Section 301, the Trump administration also plans to initiate investigations under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. This provision allows the president to impose tariffs based on national security considerations. The government believes that tariffs imposed under these authorities are more likely to withstand legal scrutiny.
On Tuesday, Trump joked that he hoped Greer would “viciously” hit Merkel based on the new tariff policy, but then stated that he believed most countries still want to preserve agreements reached before the Supreme Court ruling.
“They all want to stay in the agreements, so we might as well be able to do it easily,” Trump said.