U.S. opens trade probes against Japan, over a dozen other countries

WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday launched trade investigations into what it sees as unfair practices by China, Japan and over a dozen other countries, in a step to replace his sweeping tariff regime that was invalidated by the Supreme Court last month.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the probes are aimed at uncovering "a variety of unfair trading practices related to excess capacity and production in manufacturing" and at reviving similar high tariffs on imported goods.