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www.newsindiatimes.com – that’s all you need to know Trump Administration Launches Investigation Into Countries Including India Over Alleged ‘Unfair Trade Practice’ T he Donald Trump administration has initiated fresh investigations into alleged “unfair trade practice” by 16 major trading partners, including India, China, and Bangladesh. The move aims to reinstate tariff pres- sure following a US Supreme Court ruling last month that declared previous levies illegal. These inquiries are being carried out under “Section 301” of the Trade Act of 1974. This legislation grants the US Trade Representative the authority to enforce tariffs or other punitive actions against nations found to be using unfair trade practices. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer indicated that the investigations could result in new tariffs being applied to China, the European Union, India, Japan, South Korea, and Mexico by the coming summer. The “excess capacity” probe also extends to several other partners, includ- ing Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia, Bangla- desh, Switzerland, and Norway. Notably, Canada, the second-largest trading partner of the US, was excluded from the list. Greer explained to reporters during a conference call that the “investigations will focus on economies that we have evi- dence appears to exhibit structural excess capacity and production in various manu- facturing sectors, such as through larger persistent trade surpluses or underutilised or unused capacity.” In addition to the capacity probe, Greer announced he would launch a separate investigation on Thursday under Section 301. This second probe aims to prohibit US imports of products manufactured us- ing forced labour and is expected to cover over 60 nations. While the US has previously targeted solar panels and other commodities from China’s Xinjiang region under the Uyghur Forced Labour Protection Act, this new inquiry could broaden such restrictions to other countries. Greer expressed a desire for interna- tional partners to adopt similar bans against forced labour goods, referencing standards in a nearly century-old trade law. Washington has consistently alleged that Chinese officials have set up labour camps for ethnic Uyghur and other Mus- lim groups in the western region; however, Beijing continues to deny any claims of mistreatment. Greer says his department intends to wrap up the Section 301 probes, includ- ing any “proposed remedies,” before the temporary tariffs introduced by Trump in late February expire this July. Following the Supreme Court’s Feb- ruary 20 decision to strike down global tariffs, Trump utilized Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to implement a 10 per cent tariff for a 150-day period. The time- line for the capacity investigation is set to be rapid, with public feedback welcomed until April 15 and a public hearing sched- uled for approximately May 5. These proceedings provide the Trump administration with a mechanism to re- establish a “credible tariff threat” to ensure trading partners remain at the negotiating table. This strategy seeks to enforce trade agreements originally designed to lower the higher rates previously imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Greer noted that these measures had been long anticipated and should not shock international partners. He urged nations to adhere to their existing agree- ments, though he did not guarantee that doing so would make them immune to all new Section 301 tariffs. Emphasizing the President’s resolve, Greer stated that Trump “will find a way to deal with unfair trading practices. He’ll find a way to get our trade deficit down. He’ll find a way to protect US manufactur- ing. We have a lot of tools to do it.” -ANI News India Times (March 14, 2026 - March 20, 2026) March 20, 2026 6 US-India PHOTO:USTR.GOV USTR Jamieson Greer. P resident Donald Trump on Tuesday, 10, 2026, announced the construction of a refinery on the southern U.S. border backed by India’s Reliance Industries, operator of the world’s biggest refining complex. Trump made the announcement as drivers react to spiking gasoline prices since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, and while Republicans and Democrats prepare for midterm elections that could determine which party controls Congress through the last two years of his presidency. “Thank you to our partners in India, and their larg- est privately held Energy Company, Reliance, for this tremendous Investment,” Trump said on social media platformTruth Social. The 168,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) refinery will be built at the port of Brownsville and will offset $300 billion in the trade deficit with India, startup America First Refining said in a statement. Reliance did not respond to an emailed request for comment. “For the first time in half a century, the United States will build a new refinery designed specifically for Ameri- can shale oil,” said America First’s chairman and founder, John V. Calce. Many Gulf Coast refineries are unable to process light, sweet crude oil from fracking shale fields because they were configured in the last 40 years to run lower-cost heavy, sour crude, which has higher density and contains more sulfur. A “global supermajor” has provided a “9-figure invest- ment” at a “10-figure valuation,” America First said. Trump named the investor as Reliance, India’s largest private-sector company. Reliance has signed “a binding 20-year offtake term sheet” with America First, meaning it will buy products the refinery produces. That will help cut India’s trade sur- plus with the U.S., which has been a Trump grievance. America First said it plans to break ground in the sec- ond quarter of this year. INDUSTRY EXPERTS QUESTION NEED Analysts were skeptical about the need for a new refin- ery on the Gulf Coast, which is already home to eight of the country’s 10 largest refineries. “Initial announcements like this by the Trump ad- ministration have a lot of hyperbole,” said Refined Fuels Analytics managing director John Auers. The new refinery will “fuel U.S. markets, strengthen our national security, boost American energy production, deliver billions of dollars in economic impact, and will be the cleanest refinery in the world,” Trump said on Truth Social. Gulf Coast refineries have advantages over plants else- where in the U.S., said Kloza Advisors principal analyst Tom Kloza. “If Brownsville is indeed the location for the build, I would assume that they are looking at an export refin- ery,” Kloza said. “There is not much local demand and there are not pipeline connections to take Brownsville product elsewhere.” U.S. refineries are the major suppliers of motor fuel and heating oil to South America, Kloza said, and have lower costs for natural gas, hydrogen and domestic crude oil. “Let’s see what develops,” he said. “Reliance is a very successful company.” Reliance operates the 1.4 million bpd refining complex in Jamnagar, India, the world’s largest. The firm, which reported $125 billion in revenue last year, also operates businesses in retail, new energy, digital services, media and entertainment. Since late 2025, two California refineries with com- bined capacity of 284,000 bpd have permanently closed, citing the state’s regulation of fossil fuel industries. The cost of construction of refineries or additions to refineries in the past decade has averaged about $40,000 per barrel of capacity, or about $6.7 billion for 168,000 barrels. U.S. refining capacity was 18.4 million bpd at the end of 2024, showed data from the U.S. Energy Informa- tion Administration. That is set to grow through gradual increase in capacity into the 2030s, Auers said. -Reuters Trump Announces New US Refinery Backed By India’s Reliance U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at Trump National Doral Miami in Miami, Florida, U.S., March 9, 2026. REUTERS/KEVIN LAMARQUE By Erwin Seba and Nicole Jao