The Trump administration on Wednesday started a new investigation into foreign manufacturing practices. The move follows a ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States, which struck down the president’s earlier use of tariffs that were imposed under an economic emergency declaration.

The new probe will examine manufacturing sectors in several foreign economies. Officials said the investigation could lead to new import tariffs on goods entering the United States. The announcement came from Jamieson Greer, who said the administration will begin investigations under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.

This law allows the US government to examine whether foreign trade practices harm American industries and to impose tariffs or other trade restrictions if necessary.

16 Economies Come Under Scrutiny

The investigation targets 16 economies, including several of the United States’ major trading partners. Those under review include China, the European Union, Mexico, India, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. The list also includes Switzerland, Norway, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Bangladesh.

Officials said the investigation focuses on what they see as excessive manufacturing capacity in these economies.

US Concern Over Global Overproduction

During a briefing with reporters, Jamieson Greer said many trading partners have built large manufacturing capacities that do not match market demand.

“Our view is that key trading partners have developed production capacity that is really untethered from the market incentives of domestic and global demand,” Greer said during a call with reporters, according to Bloomberg.

According to the US administration, such overproduction allows foreign manufacturers to export excess goods into the American market. Officials say this practice hurts US factories and discourages investment in domestic manufacturing.

US Pushes to Protect Domestic Manufacturing

In an official statement, Greer said the investigations show the administration’s commitment to strengthening American industries. “The United States 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 Trump’s commitment to reshore critical supply chains and create good-paying jobs for American workers across our manufacturing sectors," he said.

He added that structural overcapacity in foreign manufacturing sectors continues to challenge the administration’s efforts to rebuild US industry.

“The Trump Administration’s reindustrialization efforts continue to face significant challenges due to foreign economies’ structural excess capacity and production in manufacturing sectors. Across numerous sectors, many U.S. trading partners are producing more goods than they can consume domestically. This overproduction displaces existing U.S. domestic production or prevents investment and expansion in U.S. manufacturing production that otherwise would have been brought online. In many sectors, the United States has lost substantial domestic production capacity or has fallen worryingly behind foreign competitors," he added further.

India-US Trade Ties and Tariff Changes

The development comes shortly after India and the United States announced a new bilateral trade agreement. Under the deal, the Trump administration reduced tariffs on Indian goods from 50 percent to 18 percent. The White House said the reduction followed a commitment from New Delhi to reduce and halt its purchases of Russian oil.

Earlier, India faced tariffs of 25 percent from the United States after President Trump’s “Liberation Day” trade action. Later, Trump imposed an additional 25 percent tariff on Indian goods as a penalty for what he described as “buying Russian oil and fuelling the war in Ukraine.”

Trade Deal Hailed as Historic

Despite the tariff disputes and limited details about the agreement, both India and the United States have praised the new trade deal. Officials from both sides described the agreement as a “historic” step in strengthening economic ties between the two countries.