The Trump administration is launching separate investigations centred on overproduction and importing goods made with forced labour, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told reporters. Many of the countries targeted have already concluded tariff agreements with Washington, which Greer said are “independent” of the investigations. “If we need to impose tariffs to help solve this, we will.”Others subject to the excess capacity probe initiated Wednesday include Singapore, Switzerland, South Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan and Mexico. The investigation “will focus on economies that we have evidence appear to exhibit structural excess capacity and production in various manufacturing sectors,” Greer said. The second probe linked to forced labour was expected to be announced on Thursday and would impact roughly 60 partners, Greer said.

Source: Bangkok Post March 12, 2026 06:56 UTC