US Probes of 16 Trading Partners Seeks Valid Tariff Leverage
By Reuters | 11 Mar, 2026

The EU, China, Mexico, Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand, Japan and India are among nations facing probes as to whether they had engaged in unfair trade practices as Trump scrambles for legal bases for trade leverage.

The United States on Wednesday said it was launching unfair trade practice investigations into 16 key trading partners, part of an urgent effort by President Donald Trump's administration to restore tariffs recently struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court as illegal.

The probes are being conducted under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which empowers the U.S. Trade Representative to impose tariffs or other retaliatory measures against trading partners determined to employ unfair trade practices.

The administration alleges the 16 all employ policies that disadvantage U.S. goods producers, resulting in all but one of them running substantial goods trade surpluses with the U.S. 

Here are the 16 subject to the investigation:    

Country/Area | Goods Trade Deficit 2024 ($ Mln) |  2025 Deficit ($ Mln) | Change  

European Union     218,750     235,874     -17,124 

China     202,071     295,515      -93,444 

Mexico    196,913    171,491    25,422 

Vietnam    178,183    123,457    54,726 

Taiwan    146,756    73,718    73,038 

Thailand    71,856    45,492    26,364 

Japan    63,883    69,392    -5,509 

India    58,216    45,801    12,415 

Korea, South    56,416    65,967    -9,551 

Switzerland    34,304    38,283    -3,979 

Malaysia    30,791    24,854    5,937 

Indonesia    23,716    17,893    5,823 

Cambodia    14,928    12,327    2,601 

Bangladesh    7,146    6,063    1,083 

Norway    2,069    2,043    26 

Singapore    -3,553    -1,855    -1,698 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau trade data

(Reporting by Dan Burns in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis)