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The Two Investigations, Explained

Investigation 1: Forced Labor (Hearings April 28–May 1)

The USTR is investigating forced labor practices among 60 major trading partners. Products imported from countries where forced labor is documented in the supply chain — and where the trading partner's government has not addressed it — are candidates for Section 301 tariffs. This investigation targets supply chain sourcing practices more broadly, not just country-of-origin manufacturing.

Investigation 2: Industrial Excess Capacity (Hearings May 5–8)

The USTR is investigating structurally subsidized manufacturing overcapacity across 16 economies. This is the more economically significant investigation for most manufacturing clients — it covers sectors where government subsidization has allowed overseas producers to undercut market prices, including steel, aluminum, chemicals, textiles, semiconductors, and consumer goods. China is the primary target, but the investigation covers other economies as well.

Both investigations are being conducted at the U.S. International Trade Commission. Hearings are in Washington, DC.

Tariff timeline: Resulting tariffs could take effect as early as July 2026 — twelve weeks from the April 28 hearing start date.

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What "Participating" Actually Means

The administrative process has three participation mechanisms:

1. Written comments (deadline passed April 15) The initial written comment deadline has already passed. If your clients missed this window, they cannot submit initial comments — but they can still participate in the rebuttal process.

2. Oral hearing testimony (April 28–May 8) Organizations and individuals can request to testify at the hearings. This is on-the-record participation in the administrative record. For clients with significant tariff exposure, having trade counsel or a trade consultant prepare and deliver testimony is the highest-impact form of participation.

3. Post-hearing rebuttal comments (within 7 days of each hearing) This is the most immediately actionable window for clients whose written comments deadline has passed. Rebuttal comments respond to testimony and arguments made at the hearings. The seven-day clock starts after each hearing date — meaning the rebuttal window for the April 28 hearing closes approximately May 5.

For clients who can't prepare testimony before April 28, the rebuttal window is the entry point.

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What Consulting and Law Firms Can Bill For

Participation in Section 301 proceedings is specialized advisory work that manufacturing and import-dependent clients cannot easily do themselves. The services that generate billable work during this window:

Comment and rebuttal drafting Translating client business impact into regulatory language is the core skill. The comment must explain: what products are affected, the specific sourcing or competitive relationship at issue, what economic harm the proposed tariffs would cause, and why the client's situation warrants exclusion or modified treatment. This requires both trade policy knowledge and client-specific business analysis.

Product exclusion request preparation Clients seeking to exclude specific products from resulting tariffs must file exclusion requests after tariff decisions are published. Firms that have worked with a client through the hearing process are significantly better positioned to file effective exclusion requests — they already understand the client's sourcing, business case, and exposure.

Hearing testimony preparation and delivery For clients with large tariff exposure, retained trade counsel or a trade consultant can prepare testimony and appear at the hearings. This is billable engagement work, not background support.

Supply chain documentation and sourcing analysis For the forced labor investigation, clients need documentation of their supply chain sourcing — where goods originate, what labor practices apply, and how they've audited supplier compliance. Consulting firms with supply chain advisory capability can generate this documentation as part of the hearing preparation.

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How to Approach Clients Before April 28

The proactive outreach message is direct:

"The USTR started Section 301 investigations that could add new tariffs to your imported goods by July 2026. Hearings begin April 28. There's still time to participate — either through hearing testimony or the post-hearing rebuttal process. I want to walk you through your exposure and what we'd need to do to protect your position."

That's the client call. You don't need a full analysis before you make it. What you need is a sense of which clients import manufactured goods, source from China or other high-exposure markets, or compete directly against goods from the 16 overcapacity economies.

For most professional services firms with manufacturing, distribution, or import-dependent clients, that's a small number of accounts — but those accounts have significant exposure.

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The Rebuttal Window Is Your Practical Entry Point

If your clients missed the April 15 written comment deadline, here's the realistic path:

1. Monitor the April 28–May 1 hearings — public testimony will be in the record and summarized in trade press (Duane Morris; Davis Wright Tremaine; Cherry Bekaert typically publish daily summaries during major trade proceedings)

2. Identify the testimony most relevant to your client's sector or supply chain

3. Draft rebuttal comments responding to that testimony — pointing out facts, context, or business impact the record doesn't adequately reflect for your client's situation

4. File within seven days of the relevant hearing

This is achievable for a trade-competent advisor. It requires speed, not magic.

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What Happens to Firms That Don't Participate

Clients who don't participate face harder options later:

• Exclusion requests are still possible after tariff decisions, but participation in the administrative record strengthens the exclusion case. USTR gives significantly more favorable consideration to parties who engaged in the process.

• Judicial challenges are substantially harder for non-participating parties. Courts defer heavily to the USTR's administrative record on trade matters — parties who didn't participate have limited standing to argue the record was inadequate.

• Retroactive tariff adjustments are rare. Once tariffs take effect, the burden shifts to the importer to pay and apply for refunds — a much slower and more expensive path than preventing the tariff in the first place.

The participation window is short and it closes fast. Firms that move now can generate meaningful revenue while delivering genuine client protection. Firms that don't will be helping clients navigate the aftermath instead.

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The One Action Before April 28

Identify three clients in your book of business who import goods or source from overseas suppliers in manufacturing-intensive sectors. Call them — not email — before April 28 and ask two questions:

1. "Have you heard about the Section 301 hearings starting Monday?"
2. "Do you want to understand your exposure before the window closes?"

That call is the advisory service. The analysis, the comment drafting, the exclusion preparation — all of that follows. But it starts with the call.

(Sources: Duane Morris; Davis Wright Tremaine; Cherry Bekaert; U.S. International Trade Commission)