President Donald Trump is considering utilizing Section 338 of the Trade Act of 1930 to implement retaliatory tariffs matching those imposed by other nations. This law allows the president to impose duties of up to 50 percent against imports from countries deemed to discriminate against US commerce.
US President Donald Trump gestures, after his meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah, at the White House in Washington, DC, on Feb 11, 2025. WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump is likely to dust off a 1930 trade law largely forgotten for decades to back his new reciprocal US tariffs that will match other countries' higher import taxes, trade and legal experts say.
It also can be triggered by discrimination in custom duties or other fees, regulations or other restrictions that"disadvantage" US commerce. So far in his new term, Trump has favoured tools that allowed immediate action on tariffs.
After World War Two, countries sought to standardize global tariff rates to avoid a return of the pre-war"beggar-thy-neighbor" economic policies marked by competitive trade restrictions and currency devaluations. As communist forces consolidated control of China in 1949, a telegram from then-Secretary of State Dean Acheson mentions Section 338 as a potential remedy against Chinese"Commie commercial policy" discriminating against US commerce. Acheson notes the president could exclude Chinese imports altogether.It's unclear whether Trump's action will be broad or targeted to a few sectors or countries.
TARIFFS TRADE LAW PRESIDENT TRUMP RECPROCAL TARIFFS SECTION 338 US COMMERCE
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