What is ‘Super-301’?

The Correct Answer is American Trade Law.

Key Points

• Section 301 of the United States Trade Act of 1974 empowers the President to take any necessary action, including tariff-based and non-tariff-based retaliation, to remove any act, regulation, or practice of a foreign government that burdens or restricts U.S. commerce and violates an international trade agreement or is unjustified, unfair, or discriminatory.
• The United States Trade Representative (USTR) may initiate Section 301 cases on its own or as a result of a petition filed by a company or industry group. If the USTR opens a Section 301 inquiry, it must try to reach an agreement with the foreign government, either by compensation or trade elimination.
• The United States Trade Representative (USTR) may initiate Section 301 cases on its own or as a result of a petition filed by a company or industry group.
• Super 301 required the USTR to issue a report on its trade priorities for 1989 and 1990, as amended by section 1302 of the Omnibus Foreign Trade and Competitiveness Act, and to identify priority foreign countries that practiced unfair trade and priority practices that had the greatest effect on restricting U.S. exports.
• The initial terms of Super 301 were set to expire in 1991. President Clinton, on the other hand, released Executive Order 12901, reactivating Super 301 for a two-year period (1994 and 1995). EO 12973 (September 1995) expanded the Super 301 phase through 1997, but it was not in use in 1998. Super 301 was re-instated for three years on March 31, 1999, and amended by EO 13116.