Overview
USTR Initiates Second Four-Year Review of Section 301 China Technology Transfer Tariffs
On May 6, 2026, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) announced the initiation of the second statutorily required four-year review of its investigation into China's acts, policies, and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. This review concerns multiple sets of tariffs imposed on imports from China in 2018 by the first Trump administration.
Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 grants USTR the authority to enforce US rights under trade agreements and respond to foreign trade practices the US government considers unfair or discriminatory and that burden or restrict US commerce. Tariffs imposed pursuant to an affirmative Section 301 investigation expire four years after their anniversary date unless a member of the domestic industry that benefits from the action submits a written request for the continuation of the action.
If a request is submitted to USTR to continue the action, USTR must undertake a full review to determine whether the underlying unfair practice persists, whether the trade action remains an appropriate remedy, and the effects of the action on the US economy and consumers. As with the original investigation, the four-year review includes a public comment and hearing process, as well as consultations with relevant government agencies. Following the review, USTR will determine whether to maintain the action, modify the tariff rates and/or subject products, or terminate the action altogether.
China Technology Transfer Proceeding & The First Four-Year Review
In August 2017, USTR initiated the investigation into acts, policies, and practices of the Government of China related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation. After finding that the investigated acts, policies, and practices were unreasonable or discriminatory and burdened or restricted US commerce, USTR ultimately imposed 25% tariffs on imports of a wide range of products under more than 1,000 HTS codes.
The tariff actions were modified multiple times to further expand the scope of covered products, adjust tariff rates on particular imports, and provide temporary tariff exclusions for certain imports. Certain actions expanding the tariffs were appealed in court. In September 2025, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) upheld USTR’s modifications finding that Section 307 of the Trade Act of 1974 authorizes USTR to take escalatory, modified trade actions where they are tied to the original Section 301 action.
In May 2022, USTR initiated the first four-year review of the Section 301 actions on China. Following that review, USTR largely maintained the existing tariffs while adding tariffs or increasing the tariff rates for select strategic products and sectors such as electric vehicles, solar products, batteries, and semiconductors. That review lasted for more than two years, with multiple public comment periods along the way. This included a comment request at the start of the review and several requests related to the proposed tariff modifications. This example demonstrates that a Section 301 review can be a lengthy process, with significant opportunities for affected industry stakeholders to provide comments along the way.
Second Four-Year Review
The May 6 notice initiates the second statutory four-year review of the July 6, 2018, and August 23, 2018, trade actions taken under Section 301. Through this notice, USTR provides an opportunity for representatives of domestic industries which benefit from the 2018 actions to request continuation of the actions. Companies have until July 5, 2026 to request continuation of the July 6, 2018 action, and August 22, 2026 to request continuation of the August 23, 2018 action. Without such a request, the actions will terminate at the close of the four-year period.
It is exceedingly likely that industry representatives will request to continue the actions and that USTR will agree. If that is the case, USTR would then provide formal notice of its intentions in the coming months, with a full review and public comment process following. That step would include a request for public input on the effectiveness of the actions taken to date; other actions that could be taken; and the effects of these actions on the US economy and on the relevant acts, policies, and practices in China. This process could take a significant amount of time. The first four-year review took more than two years to complete, with the resulting tariff modifications slowly phased in afterwards.
What Interested Parties Can Expect
Since concluding the first four-year review, USTR has examined China’s acts, policies, and practices in several separate Section 301 investigations, including investigations into China's Targeting of the Semiconductor Industry for Dominance (December 23, 2024) and China’s Implementation of Commitments Under the Phase One Agreement (October 24, 2025). The semiconductor investigation resulted in the imposition of new tariffs scheduled to take effect in June 2027; the second investigation is ongoing. China is also included in the multi-country investigations related to structural excess capacity and forced labor launched in March 2026.
Although China is now subject to a number of other Section 301 proceedings, it seems likely that USTR will maintain the technology-transfer related tariffs in the second four-year review. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen how the other Section 301 investigations will impact the four-year review and whether USTR will use the review as an opportunity to streamline or significantly amend the Section 301 tariffs imposed on China.
Steptoe's International Trade team is closely monitoring this review. If you need support evaluating what these developments mean for your business, our team is ready to help.
