The Trade Act of 1974 (Public Law 93–618) is a significant United States federal statute, signed into law by President Gerald Ford on January 3, 1975, that fundamentally reshaped U.S. trade policy by granting the President extensive authority to negotiate trade agreements and enforce compliance with international rules. It was created to address the need for a new framework for U.S. participation in the Tokyo Round of multilateral trade negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which ran from 1973 to 1979. The Act's stated purpose was to promote an open, non-discriminatory, and fair world economic system and stimulate U.S. economic growth.
The Act works through several key mechanisms: Title I granted the President "fast-track" authority, allowing the executive branch to negotiate trade agreements that Congress could only approve or disapprove without amendment, thereby limiting legislative deliberation. Title III contains Section 301 (19 U.S.C. § 2411), which is a powerful provision authorizing the President to take all appropriate action, including imposing tariffs, to retaliate against foreign government practices that are "unjustifiable," "unreasonable," or "discriminatory" and burden U.S. commerce. Title II, Section 201 allows for temporary import relief (safeguards) for domestic industries facing serious injury from import surges. The Act also instituted the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) under Title V, which grants unilateral duty-free access to certain products from developing countries like India to promote their economic development.
The Act connects directly to the World Trade Organization (WTO), which replaced the GATT in 1995; after this, the U.S. largely relied on the WTO's dispute settlement mechanism, causing the use of Section 301 to become rare. However, the Trump administration revitalized Section 301 in 2017 to impose tariffs on China. A recent change occurred on February 20, 2026, when the Supreme Court struck down tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), leading the administration to immediately reimpose tariffs under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 as a temporary measure. The administration is now pivoting to expand its use of Section 301 for a more durable tariff regime.