The Glossary
Section 301
The 1974 Trade Act statute under which most U.S. China tariffs were imposed.
Definition
Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 authorizes the U.S. Trade Representative to respond to foreign acts, policies and practices that burden U.S. commerce — including theft of intellectual property and forced technology transfer. USTR opened its investigation into China's technology-transfer regime on August 18, 2017, and its findings grounded successive tariff lists on $50 billion (List 1-2), $200 billion (List 3) and $110 billion (List 4) of Chinese goods from July 2018 onward.
Why it matters
It is the legal spine of the tariff era: the 2024 quadrennial review — which raised EV duties to 100% and semiconductors to 50% — used the same authority, and any durable settlement must reckon with whether these tariffs stay, convert to a tax, or sunset.
Related terms
Tariff Exclusions MFN / Normal Trade Relations Reciprocal Tariff