The Trump administration launched Section 301 trade investigations against Canada and 59 other countries last week, building a new legal basis for long-term tariffs after the Supreme Court struck down its preferred tariff authority in February.
The US Trade Representative’s office expanded the probe to 60 nations by Thursday evening, citing forced labour in global supply chains.
USTR Jamieson Greer told CNBC the administration aims to wrap up the process “in a matter of months” — before Trump’s Section 122 tariffs of up to 15% expire on July 24, the 150-day deadline set after the court struck down his “Liberation Day” duties and fentanyl-related levies on Canada, Mexico, and China.
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The Federal Register notice explicitly acknowledges that Canada, Mexico, and the EU have already adopted such measures — suggesting the probe is less about compliance than enforcement — or a vehicle for other longstanding irritants, including Canada’s dairy supply management system and provincial bans on US alcohol sales.
Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc’s spokesperson, Gabriel Brunet, told The Canadian Press that Ottawa remains “committed to working with our CUSMA partners to further a North American approach to tackling forced labour in international supply chains, as we have done over the last number of years.”
The US has already opened CUSMA review negotiations with Mexico, but not Canada.
Read: North America’s Trade Pact Faces Its First Test Next Week — Without Canada at the Table
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