Recently, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) officially launched two new investigations based on Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act, focusing on two major directions: structural overcapacity in the global manufacturing industry and import controls related to so-called "forced labor". If a related ruling is formed in the follow-up of this investigation, the US side does not rule out the possibility of imposing tariffs, import restrictions or other trade remedy measures, which will have a direct impact on the global manufacturing industry and related commodity trade. The World Trade Organization (WTO) expert group has clearly ruled that the tariff measures implemented by the United States under Section 301 violate WTO rules. The use of this provision to launch a large-scale investigation is essentially a typical unilateralism.

It is reported that the first survey focuses on the structural overcapacity problem in the manufacturing industry of 18 economies worldwide, covering major manufacturing economies such as China, the European Union, Japan, India, Mexico, and Vietnam. The core of the investigation is to verify whether the relevant economies have been promoting the formation of overcapacity through policies, thereby distorting the international market competition pattern and harming domestic industries and enterprises in the United States. Among them, industries such as automobiles, machinery, steel, and non-ferrous metals are listed as key areas, and the two basic industrial categories of steel and non-ferrous metals are the core targets of this overcapacity verification.

US Trade Representative Jefferson Greer stated that the core objective of the investigation is to address the crowding out effect of overcapacity in overseas economies on domestic manufacturing in the United States, as well as the resulting suppression of investment willingness in domestic manufacturing.