Members of the 301 Committee:
Thank you very much for this opportunity to provide comments on behalf of the Progressive Policy Institute on the “Section 301” investigation opened last March 11th, alleging “Structural Excess Capacity” in 16 economies and U.S. trading partners, specifically Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, the European Union, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Norway, Singapore, Switzerland, Thailand, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit think-tank, established in 1989 and led by President Will Marshall, and publishes on a wide range of public policy topics. PPI has participated in U.S. trade policy debates since its founding, through public commentary, Congressional testimony, convenings, and participation in TPSC and U.S. Trade Representative Office hearings. I have served as PPI’s Vice President since 2021, and direct research and publishing on trade policy and global economy topics. Before joining PPI, I served as Assistant USTR for Policy and Economics, with responsibility for overseeing agency economic research and use of trade data, chairing the interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee, and administering the Generalized System of Preferences.
My testimony this morning covers four topics:
• The apparent goal of this investigation, as explained by senior administration officials;
• Its core concept of “structural excess capacity”;
• The relevance of the data points presented in USTR’s March 11 Federal Register Notice as justifying inclusion of the 16 economies; and
• A more appropriate approach if the administration wishes to create new tariff rates.
