Key Highlights

  • New tariffs of 10% to 12.5% took effect on 60 trade partners covering 99.4% of US trade.
  • The duties replace Trump's temporary 10% global tariff, which expired at the same moment the new measures began.
  • Officials described the action as the most sweeping international labor rights measure any country has ever taken.
  • The new tariffs will not stack on top of existing Section 232 steel and aluminum duties.

A New Legal Foundation Replaces an Expiring Emergency Tariff

The Trump administration imposed new tariffs on dozens of countries over alleged forced labor violations, according to a notice in the Federal Register, with duties set between 10% and 12.5% effectively replacing the president's temporary 10% global tariff that expired at 12:01 a.m. ET Friday, the same moment the new measures took effect. The tariffs apply to 60 trade partners and cover 99.4% of US trade, according to a fact sheet released by the Office of the US Trade Representative, though the office said it could not provide an estimate of how much revenue the new tariffs would generate.

A senior Trump administration official characterised the move as the most sweeping international labor rights action the United States has ever taken, or that any country has ever taken, while confirming the new tariffs would not stack on top of existing Section 232 duties on steel and aluminum imposed the previous year on national security grounds.

Part of a Broader Push to Rebuild a Legally Durable Tariff Regime

The latest action underscores how the administration is ramping its use of tariffs back up after Trump's broader protectionist agenda suffered significant legal setbacks earlier in the year. The new tariffs are being imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, one of the trade tools Trump has relied on since the Supreme Court struck down his global tariffs imposed under emergency powers on February 20.

Hours after that court ruling, Trump said he would impose a worldwide 10% tariff under Section 122 of the same trade law, a measure that came with a 150-day timer set to lapse at 12:01 a.m. ET Friday. In March, the administration had separately announced two Section 301 investigations, the forced labor probe underlying these new tariffs and another centred on concerns about excess manufacturing capacity across 16 economies, with the latter probe yet to be finalised.

Fitting Into a Pattern of Escalating Trade Actions

The new measures arrive alongside other recent tariff actions, including 25% tariffs on most US imports from Brazil that took effect earlier in the week and 50% tariffs on a wide range of Canadian goods set to begin next month. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told the Senate the administration remains committed to continuing to use tariffs and negotiate deals to support the reindustrialisation of the US economy, protect American workers, increase their wages and shrink the trade deficit.

Trump has long promoted tariffs as key tools for generating revenue and gaining leverage over foreign trade partners, while dismissing criticism that such measures function as a tax on US importers and ultimately raise prices for American consumers.

Conclusion

The new tariff regime represents the administration's attempt to establish a more legally durable foundation for broad-based trade duties following the Supreme Court's rejection of its emergency-powers tariffs earlier this year. With the measures now covering the vast majority of US trade and additional actions already targeting Brazil and Canada, the coming months will likely reveal both how trading partners respond and whether the Section 301 legal basis proves more resilient to court challenges than the mechanism it replaces.