In 16 countries, the United States has initiated a trade investigation into structural excess manufacturing capacity. The list includes significant exporters like the European Union and China, as well as manufacturing hubs in Asia and developing nations like India, Cambodia, and Bangladesh.
The USTR investigations will look at whether these economies’ ongoing trade surpluses and unused industrial capacity are skewing global markets and harming American industry.
China, the European Union, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Mexico, Japan, and India are the economies being studied.
Together, they make up some of the biggest exporting nations in the world. Their sectors cover everything from electronics and cars to textiles, energy, and chemicals.
The most notable example is China. In 2025, its worldwide trade surplus for commodities was over $1. 2 trillion. This made up about 70% of the world’s trade surplus in commodities.
Additionally, China had a $361 billion bilateral trade surplus with the United States in 2024. Among US trading partners, that was the biggest.
China’s exports cover a wide range of industries. These encompass automobiles, electronics, machinery, steel, chemicals, and consumer goods.
In 2025, the industrial utilization rate in China dropped to 74. 4%. That indicates a lot of untapped production potential.
In the research, the second largest economic bloc mentioned is the European Union.
The euro zone’s goods trade surplus totaled $451 billion in 2024. Additionally, the EU had a bilateral surplus with the US worth $147 billion. Vehicles, machinery, and chemicals are among the main export industries.
Germany and Ireland are examples of European nations with continuous trade surpluses. Certain manufacturing industries also exhibit rather poor capacity utilization.
Many of the Asian nations that are being looked at are significant centers for global manufacturing.
One of the quickest increases in surplus occurs in Vietnam. In 2025, its global trade surplus in goods reached $196 billion. The United States saw an increase in its bilateral surplus with it to $178 billion. The majority of this expansion is fueled by exports of machinery and electronics.
In 2024, South Korea had a $52 billion trade surplus in the global market. Taiwan had a surplus of $73. 3 billion. Both economies are heavily reliant on their semiconductor and electronics sectors.
The research also reveals the existence of smaller, export-oriented economies.
Malaysia and Singapore have significant surpluses in industries like semiconductors, electronics, petrochemicals, and machinery.
Additionally, certain economies are linked to particular sectors.
In 2025, Mexico had a $197 billion trade surplus with the United States. A significant portion of that number comes from car exports.
Although Japan had a $36 billion worldwide goods deficit in 2024, its bilateral trade surplus with the United States was $57 billion. The majority of Japan’s exports to the United States are automobiles.
Thailand exports automobiles and machinery to Southeast Asia. Bangladesh and Cambodia are heavily dependent on clothing, footwear, and similar goods.
The investigation also includes India. In 2025, it had a $58 billion bilateral trade surplus with the United States.
Textiles, construction materials, healthcare items, and vehicle production are among India’s surplus industries.
The report also points out that there is excess capacity in a number of Indian industries. Manufacturing capability in the solar industry is about three times the national demand. There is additional spare capacity in steel and petrochemicals.
Commodity-driven exports are the primary cause of the smaller group of economies.
Indonesia and Norway have surpluses in seafood, metals, agricultural goods, and fuels.
Switzerland is mentioned as having a significant surplus mostly due to the export of processed gold, pharmaceuticals, and equipment.
The 16 economies have a common characteristic despite their differences. According to US authorities, their manufacturing capacity frequently outstrips local demand.
This might result in underutilized industrial capacity and ongoing trade surpluses.
According to US officials, such imbalances have the potential to alter international trade patterns. They claim that surplus production frequently ends up in export markets, such as the United States.