The US has launched investigations into 16 trading partners, including China, Japan, India and the European Union, to examine and address alleged “unfair foreign trade practices”, the office of the US Trade Representative said in a statement on March 11.Jamieson Greer, the US Trade Representative, announced the initiation of investigations into the acts, policies and practices of various economies under Section 301(b) of the Trade Act of 1974, citing concerns about structural excess capacity and overproduction in manufacturing sectors.According to the statement, the investigations will determine whether these acts, policies and practices are unreasonable or discriminatory and whether they burden or restrict US commerce.“The US will no longer sacrifice its industrial base to other countries that may be exporting their problems with excess capacity and production to us. Today’s investigations underscore President Donald Trump’s commitment to reshore critical supply chains and create good-paying jobs for American workers across our manufacturing sectors,” Greer said.He added that the Trump administration’s reindustrialisation efforts continue to face significant challenges due to structural excess capacity and overproduction in manufacturing sectors in several foreign economies.“Across numerous sectors, many US trading partners are producing more goods than they can consume domestically. This overproduction displaces existing US domestic production or prevents investment and expansion in US manufacturing that otherwise would have been brought online,” he said.Greer also noted that the US had lost substantial domestic production capacity or fallen worryingly behind foreign competitors in several sectors.Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 is designed to address unfair foreign practices affecting US commerce. It may be used to respond to unjustifiable, unreasonable or discriminatory foreign government practices that burden or restrict US commerce.Under Section 302(b) of the Act, the USTR can self-initiate an investigation under Section 301. Such investigations examine whether the acts, policies or practices of a foreign country are unreasonable or discriminatory and whether they burden or restrict US commerce.