U.S. Launches Section 301 Probe Into Taiwan, Other Economies

March 13, 2026 -- Today’s top stories: U.S. Launches Section 301 Probe Into Taiwan, Other Economies, Software Firms Push Back Against Fears of an AI-Driven SaaS Collapse, UK Approves £10B AI Data Center Campus in Lincolnshire, and China Passes Controversial ‘Ethnic Unity’ Law Promoting Mandarin.

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By CommonWealth Magazine
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2026-03-13

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US launches section 301 probe into 16 economies, including Taiwan

The Office of the United States Trade Representative has launched Section 301 investigations into the manufacturing policies of 16 economies—including Taiwan, China, Japan, and the European Union—to examine whether their industrial policies create structural overcapacity that harms U.S. manufacturing. The probe will determine whether these practices are “unreasonable or discriminatory” and burden U.S. commerce, potentially paving the way for new tariffs.

The move reflects the administration of Donald Trump and its push to reshore supply chains and rebuild the U.S. industrial base. U.S. officials argue that many trading partners are producing more goods than they can consume domestically, exporting excess output that undercuts American manufacturers and discourages new investment in U.S. factories.

In response, Taiwan’s Cabinet said it does not expect the investigation to undermine the recently concluded Agreement on Reciprocal Trade with the United States. Cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee said the agreement already addressed many issues related to market access and industrial policies, adding that Taiwan had secured tariff reductions—from 20% to 15%—without stacking them on exports that already receive most-favored-nation treatment.

Lee added that the probe is unlikely to affect provisions granting favorable treatment to Taiwanese semiconductor exports. According to the government, Taiwan had been informed in advance of the investigation and will maintain close contact with the U.S. trade office, expressing confidence that Taiwan’s negotiated advantages and comparative strengths will remain intact.

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Software Companies Fight Back Against Fears that AI Will Kill Them

Mike Sicilia, the CEO of Oracle, has rejected the idea that artificial intelligence (AI) tools that heavily automate human tasks will lead to the demise of software as a service (SaaS).

Speaking on a conference call, Sicilia said that while AI tools and their coding capabilities would pose a threat if they were not adopted, SaaS companies are rapidly adopting them.

He was responding to concerns that new AI tools could perform some of the tasks that traditional software companies were built for, such as organising customer information or guiding people through business processes. Last month, AI startup Anthropic introduced AI plugins for its Claude Cowork agent, which led to a nearly $1Tn rout in software stocks.

CEOs of software companies have since used their post-earnings conference calls to fight back against these concerns.

However, Oracle's Mike Sicilia argued that his company was ahead of its smaller rival Salesforce, saying that it was using AI to build new products and automate full business processes, not just adding AI features on top of existing tools.

Salesforce, on the other hand, has offered a different defense, with Ceo Marc Benioff telling analysts last month that his company will outlast any so-called SaaS-Pocalypse.

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UK approves plans for large AI data centre

Plans for the Elsham Tech Park, an artificial intelligence (AI) data centre campus in North Lincolnshire, have been approved by North Lincolnshire Council.

The facility, located next to Elsham Wolds industrial estate, could attract up to £10Bn of investment and bring about 900 highly skilled long-term jobs to the area.

The energy centre would comprise up to 15 individual data centre buildings and produce up to 49.9MW of electricity annually. Next to it would be a greenhouse complex that uses waste heat from the cooling of the data centre buildings to grow agricultural produce.

The site would cover up to 435 acres of agricultural field.

The council said the project would produce up to 1GW of computing capacity, placing it among the largest AI data centre campuses proposed in the UK. construction is expected to begin in 2027, with a view to opening some parts of the campus in 2029.

The Council concluded that, despite the large absolute energy demand of the development, the impact of emissions was not significant due to the data centre’s proximity to clean energy sources in the Humber region. Concerns remain about the feasibility of this level of power generation. A separate AI project by the tech firm Nscale was meant to build a data centre that could provide 50MW of AI capacity with a view to upgrading to 90MW.

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China enacts controversial ‘ethnic unity’ law

China's National People's Congress has approved a new "ethnic unity" law that formalizes policies to promote Mandarin as the "National common language" for official purposes such as education and public affairs. Educational institutions will now be obliged to teach in Mandarin, with teenagers required to have a "basic grasp" of Mandarin when finishing their compulsory education.

The law also states that the law can be applied outside China's borders, meaning people outside China who "engage in activities that undermine ethnic unity" or incite "ethnic Separatism" can be held legally liable.

The law embodies President Xi Jinping's mission to forge a single national identity molded by the party, seen as a way to protect Beijing's rule from threats at home and abroad.

However, human rights groups have warned that the law could further marginalize minority groups and their languages. Social cohesion is a key focus of the new "ethnic unity" law, which criminalises engaging in "violent terrorist activities, ethnic separatist activities, or religious extremist activities." The proposed law lays out the need to promote ethnic unity by all government bodies and private enterprises, including local governments and State-Affiliated groups such as the All-China Women's Federation.

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