What is ‘Super 301' ?

‘Super 301’ refers to a specific provision of American Trade Law, specifically an amendment to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 [1]. Introduced via the Omnibus Foreign Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988, it empowered the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to identify 'priority' countries that maintained systematic and unfair trade barriers against U.S. exports. Unlike the standard Section 301, which addresses specific trade practices, Super 301 established a more automated, unilateral process for investigating and retaliating against broad market access barriers [1]. It was famously used in the late 1980s and 1990s to pressure trading partners like Japan and India to open their markets in sectors such as satellites, supercomputers, and insurance. While the original provision expired, the term remains synonymous with U.S. unilateral trade enforcement mechanisms designed to protect domestic commercial interests [1].

Sources

1. [1] https://1997-2001.state.gov/issues/economic/fsustr_000501_tradelaws.html