Section 301 Tariffs

About Section 301 Tariffs

Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 allows the US to impose tariffs on countries that engage in unfair trade practices. The Trump administration used Section 301 to impose sweeping tariffs on Chinese goods starting in 2018, beginning with 25 percent tariffs on 34 billion of imports and expanding to cover over 370 billion of Chinese goods. China retaliated with tariffs on US goods including soybeans and automobiles. The trade war disrupted global supply chains. The Phase One trade deal in January 2020 paused escalation but did not remove most tariffs. The Biden administration maintained most Trump tariffs and added new restrictions on semiconductor exports. The tariffs raised prices for US consumers and businesses but did not significantly reduce the trade deficit.