The power of Section 301: the Reagan tariffs in an age of economic globalization

ABSTRACT

Economic globalization is an important aspect of the ideology of the United States. The US has long been championing notions of a global free-market system, free of trade barriers. One of the ways in which the US has tried to challenge these trade barriers is through economic sanctions under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. Section 301 gives broad powers to the President to combat unfair foreign trade practices. However, these broad powers have also been used for protectionist measures themselves. This paper examines the power of Section 301 and whether it undermines economic globalization, using the Reagan tariffs on semiconductors as a case study. This paper argues that Section 301, instead of promoting economic globalization, undermines it by its own protectionist nature.