In a recent statement, the chief trade negotiator for US President Trump, despite the temporary truce reached between Trump and Xi Jinping, affirmed that the US will continue to conduct an investigation regarding China’s trade compliance. This investigation has opened the door for potential new tariffs on Chinese imports.
According to reports from Bloomberg, last Friday, the US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer initiated an investigation to review whether Beijing has adhered to the trade agreements reached during Trump’s first term in office.
This move by Washington was interpreted by many as a potential bargaining chip strategically placed by the US President before meeting with the CCP leader Xi Jinping.
While Trump and Xi Jinping agreed to halt tariff escalations and impose stricter controls on rare earth exports during their summit in South Korea, Greer explicitly stated in an interview with Fox Business on Thursday that the US investigation is still ongoing.
Continuing the Section 301 investigation in Washington could provide an essential precautionary tool for Trump in case Xi Jinping fails to comply with the agreements once again. The results of this investigation could potentially lead to new retaliatory tariffs being imposed on Beijing.
This investigation is conducted under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which authorizes the President to impose tariffs on goods imported from countries engaging in unfair trade practices.
Typically, such investigations can last for several months or even longer. However, any tariff adjustments made based on this investigative process may be more enduring and stable compared to tariffs imposed unilaterally by Trump using emergency powers.
In the trade agreement reached between Trump and Beijing during his first term, Beijing pledged to significantly increase purchases of US agricultural products. However, the fulfillment of this commitment by China has become one of the triggers escalating tensions in US-China trade relations this year.
According to a research study commissioned by the National Corn Growers Association and the American Soybean Association in 2024, China “failed to complete” the commitment to purchase $80 billion worth of US agricultural products in 2020 and 2021.
US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins disclosed that in the latest agreement, China once again pledged to purchase at least 87 million tons of American soybeans over the next few years.
Analysts believe that the US stating its intention to continue the Section 301 investigation shows that the Trump administration is maintaining a cautious approach in dealing with China and has heightened vigilance against breaches, preemptively reserving policy tools for the potential breakdown of agreements.
This also reflects the complexity and fragility of US-China trade relations. Even with a temporary ceasefire in place, the underlying trade disputes between the two sides have not been fundamentally resolved.