The United States of America Targets Overproduction in China and Japan: "Countermeasures Within Weeks"

[Financial News, Tokyo—Correspondent Seo Hye-jin] The United States of America is expected to announce within weeks measures to address overproduction in 16 countries and regions, including China and Japan. It has broadened the scope of pressure for additional tariffs, identifying not only China's low-priced export offensive but also the continued survival of zombie companies in Japan as factors driving overproduction.
Jamieson Greer, head of the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), said in a joint interview with Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei), Axios and Semafor on the 1st (local time), "We have no intention of quietly accepting the effects of overproduction. The United States of America will act." He added, "We will announce the findings of our investigation into the overproduction problem within the next few weeks."
The Trump administration is considering imposing additional tariffs on 16 countries and regions, including China and Japan, over the overproduction problem. It is pursuing another tariff measure after imposing additional tariffs of 10% or 12.5% last July under Section 301 of the Trade Act, accusing 60 countries and regions, including China, of failing to adequately address forced labor. However, Greer did not disclose a specific tariff rate or implementation timeline in the interview.
Greer cited competition among Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers for sales as a prime example of overproduction. He said, "China itself acknowledges the overproduction problem to some extent. It calls this 'neijuan (involution, or excessive competition),' but the fundamental problem is overproduction."
Greer led discussions on responses to overproduction in steel and other sectors, as well as forced labor, at the Group of Twenty (G20) trade ministers' meeting held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from the 30th of last month to the 1st of this month. He argued that China takes a defensive stance at international meetings because "it knows that it is one of the causes of market distortion."
Criticism was also directed at export-oriented countries around China. Regarding Japan, Greer said, "It is keeping zombie companies alive that should be going bankrupt," adding, "These various factors are leading to overproduction and harming the people here in Milwaukee."
Regarding Vietnam and other countries that are increasing exports to the United States of America in China's place, he criticized the lack of domestic demand. He stressed that domestic demand should be expanded by protecting workers' rights and raising wages, saying, "Workers cannot buy the products they produce in their own countries, so they have no choice but to rely on exports."
Alongside pressure over overproduction, the United States of America is also considering lowering tariffs on some Chinese products. At the bilateral trade committee established under an agreement reached at a summit between the United States of America and China, both sides presented candidates for tariff cuts worth $30 billion each. The United States of America proposed 77 items, including toys and plastic tableware.
Greer said the United States of America may also solicit opinions on whether to lower tariffs on those items when it announces the findings of its overproduction investigation.
[email protected] Seo Hye-jin Reporter