- The White House will impose tariffs of 10% and 12.5%.
- Many goods are exempt, including oil and gas.
- New tariffs cover 99.4% of all imports from the US.
The Trump administration will impose new tariffs of 10% and 12.5% on goods from 60 trading partners, including the European Union, on Friday over allegations of lax enforcement of forced labor bans, just as a temporary global tariff of 10% expires.
The move is the latest effort by the White House to restore President Donald Trump’s campaign vision of a near-global tariff after the US Supreme Court in February struck down his 10% to 50% “reciprocal” duties imposed last year under national emergency legislation to try to reduce the US trade deficit.
The new tariffs, announced Thursday in a Federal Register notice, will cover 99.4% of US imports, but include several product exemptions, such as oil and gas, fertilizers and certain foods.
Imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, the new tariffs allow the administration to maintain a tariff cap on virtually all U.S. imports despite Supreme Court pushback. The tariffs are also likely to face less legal risk than those struck down in February, as Section 301 has survived previous court challenges.
Trump responded to February’s Supreme Court decision by imposing a temporary 10% tariff for 150 days, expiring at 12:01 a.m. EDT Friday (0401 GMT). The new charges come into effect at exactly the same time, with goods in transit exempt until 12:01 a.m. EDT on July 28.
“The United States has had a ban on the importation of forced labor for nearly a century and strictly enforces it. It is long past time for our trading partners to do the same,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement. “Today’s action will begin to address what are both human rights abuses and distortive trade practices to improve the welfare of workers everywhere.”
Greer has previously promised that for countries that have trade deals with Washington that cap U.S. tariffs, the new forced labor charges will not push them over those caps.
Under the final decision, the United States will impose a 10% tariff on goods from Argentina, Bangladesh, the United Kingdom, Cambodia, Canada, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago.
The European Union, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Switzerland were assigned rates that, combined with pre-existing most-favoured-nation tariff rates, would amount to 10% or 12.5%.
The other 38 countries were assigned a rate of 12.5%. These include China, accused by the United States of detaining Uighur minorities in labor camps, which Beijing denies.
Trump administration officials have told Chinese counterparts they intend to build Trump’s second round of tariffs on Chinese goods up to the 20% agreed in a trade truce with Chinese President Xi Jinping in November 2025 – but not exceed that level. Before Friday’s action, China’s tariffs had fallen to 10%, excluding the 25% imposed during Trump’s first term on manufactured goods.
Countries protest
The action sparked immediate protests from some countries.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said “there is no basis for this tariff against Norway because we already have clear rules aimed at preventing trade in goods produced using forced labour.”
Australia and Brazil described the new tariffs as unjustified and said they would seek to have them removed, while Canada – hit by new Trump tariffs on $20 billion worth of goods on Monday – issued a muted response to the “unilateral” tariffs.
“We will continue to engage constructively with the United States on this matter, as well as other outstanding issues, over the coming weeks for the mutual benefit of our citizens,” said Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s minister responsible for US trade.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, a Democrat, also criticized the duties in a statement, saying they “will result in higher costs, negative consequences for businesses and weakened American competitiveness. Nobody can afford this.”
Similar prices, different tariff
“As expected, the forced tariffs largely replicate the current tariffs negotiated in various reciprocal trade agreements and replace the 10% Section 122 tariffs that expire on Friday,” said Tim Brightbill, a trade law partner with Wiley Rein in Washington.
A senior Trump administration official disputed suggestions that the forced labor tariffs were merely a direct replacement for the expiring duties, despite the timing, similar tariffs and extensive coverage of nearly all U.S. imports.
The official said the US has stronger import bans on goods made with forced labor and enforces them more rigidly than any other country, giving rivals an unfair trade advantage over the US
Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress have called for the eradication of forced labor from global supply chains, “so we’re really responding to that call,” the official said.
Ryan Majerus, a trade attorney and former Commerce Department official, said the new tariffs could be harder to challenge in court because Section 301 has withstood previous challenges and some judges may be reluctant to order actions to limit forced labor.
“Once the 301 tasks are placed, they have a lot of flexibility to adjust them,” said Majerus, a partner at King and Spalding. “It’s a sledgehammer. It’s also meant to keep the …10% baseline in place, and they think they’re well protected when this goes to court.”
Exceptions expanded
Many goods will be exempt from the tariffs, including oil and gas, fertilizers, certain foods and goods already subject to Section 232 national security tariffs, such as automobiles, steel, aluminum and copper, the official said.
Other goods that comply with the US-Mexico trade agreement will also be exempted due to the highly integrated North American supply chain and high levels of US content in these products.
