Section 301 Announcement

On Thursday, March 22 the Trump Administration announced the results from a Section 301 investigation into Chinese intellectual property rights. Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 gives the executive branch the authority to respond to unfair, unreasonable, or discriminatory trade practices and gives the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) the ability to take action to compel another country to eliminate the offending act, policy, or practice, with the president’s approval. The USTR report on Chinese intellectual property rules found that Chinese law and practices have been unfair, unreasonable and discriminatory and calls for the U.S. to take action to address them. Following the announcement of these results, President Trump signed a memorandum calling for the USTR to “publish a proposed list of products and any intended tariff increases within 15 days of the date of this memorandum” and file suit at the WTO to address these practices.