The White House is moving to resurrect its tariff agenda through fresh Section 301 probes targeting what it calls unfair trading practices — a workaround after the Supreme Court struck down earlier levies. The NYT says the announcement will come today.

The USTR will lead the investigations, with excess manufacturing capacity the headline issue — Washington’s term for countries that subsidize domestic production beyond domestic demand. Also in the crosshairs: digital services taxes, forced labor, and currency manipulation.

The move follows USTR Greer’s comments last month flagging Asian nations that “make more than they can consume” as prime targets. We will await signs on which countries are targeted.

Trump is the administration laying the legal groundwork for a new wave of tariffs. Section 301 requires investigation and consultations before duties can be imposed, so this is the starting gun — not the finish line. These investigations are likely to take until the end of the year and will be particularly challenging depending on how many countries are targeted.

Overall, it’s not a big surprise that the US is pivoting to this tool but it will once again invite legal challenges and that could complicate the strategy. The highlighting of digital services taxes here also points to Europe as a target, which Trump may use to create leverage.

It’s unlikely these investigations will finish before the 150 days on Trump’s current tariffs run out but I wouldn’t rule that out as a gap would create a problematic scenario and a rush to import goods.

For now though, we will be focused on which countries are (and aren’t) targeted, with any indications on how they respond. It also comes at an inopportune time as the US administration tries to line up allies in the Middle East. The market is largely ignoring this report for now.