Overview
- The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative began three days of public hearings on Tuesday where delegations and industry groups, including India, formally challenged the Section 301 findings and asked for termination or reconsideration of the probe.
- The USTR proposal seeks roughly 10% to 12.5% additional ad‑valorem duties on imports from 60 economies under Section 301 and includes an exemptions list covering about 1,600 tariff lines such as coffee, vanilla and cocoa.
- India told the USTR in a July 6 submission that the probe used broad, non‑country and non‑product specific evidence, failed to show a causal link to harm in U.S. commerce, and cited trade data on cotton and rice to rebut USTR claims.
- U.S. industry is split at the hearings with steel groups backing duties while trade bodies and sectors like oil and gas seek carve‑outs for industrial inputs they say are not produced in the U.S.; the current temporary 10% tariff is due to lapse later this month.
- The compressed timetable and sweeping scope raise the odds of fast legal challenges and sustained diplomatic pushback that could disrupt supply chains, raise costs for U.S. businesses and consumers, and reshape future U.S. tariff policy.