The Trump administration is implementing a fresh set of double-digit import duties on 60 trading partners—representing roughly 99% of foreign goods entering the U.S.—as temporary global tariffs lapse.
The new measures impose levies ranging between 10% and 12.5%, citing a failure by those countries to adequately prevent and crack down on products made with forced labor.
“The United States has had a forced labor import ban for nearly a century, and rigorously enforces it; it’s well past time for our trading partners to do the same,” said U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
The duties replace interim 10% worldwide tariffs enacted under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which were legally limited to 150 days and expired at 12:01 a.m. Friday.
Those temporary levies had been put in place after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a broader, earlier tariff regime that utilized the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), forcing the federal government to issue refunds to affected importers.
To bypass previous legal obstacles, Washington is now turning to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. This authority allows executive action against foreign trade practices deemed unreasonable, discriminatory, or oppressive to U.S. commerce. Further trade restrictions could also be on the horizon, as federal trade officials continue an inquiry into whether 16 major trade partners have engaged in market-distorting overproduction.
Administration officials noted that several governments took steps to strengthen their anti-forced-labor regulations after the initial proposal was announced, enabling them to secure the lower 10% tariff rate.
Essential commodities—such as crude oil, natural gas, and fertilizer—as well as USMCA-compliant products from Canada and Mexico, remain exempt from these new import duties.