Trump’s Plan B for Tariffs Rests on Shaky Foundations
The Trump administration's new strategy to impose broad tariffs using Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act lacks a coherent or defensible legal and economic foundation, drawing widespread criticism. While Section 301 has historically addressed specific trade abuses, the current application targets general overproduction and trade surpluses rather than discriminatory practices. The approach faces mounting pushback and could face legal and economic challenges as it moves forward.
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Analysis Trump’s Plan B for Tariffs Rests on Shaky Foundations The Section 301 case outlined by U.S. trade officials is neither coherent nor defensible. By Keith Johnson, a staff writer at Foreign Policy covering geoeconomics and energy. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer testifies in the Senate in Washington, D.C. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer testifies in the Senate in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 9, 2025. Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images United States China Europe May 1, 2026, 6:00 AM Trump’s Second Term Ongoing reports and analysis One year ago, it seemed as if the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) had hit its nadir with its globally mocked formula attempting to justify the Trump administration’s arbitrary and ultimately short-lived “Liberation Day”…
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