The Trump administration on Friday slapped new tariffs of 10% and 12.5% on goods from 60 trading partners, including the European Union and China, claiming those countries haven't done enough to stop forced labor imports—just as a temporary 10% global tariff expired. The move covers 99.4% of U.S. imports and marks the White House's first major step to rebuild President Donald Trump's near-global tariff wall after the U.S. Supreme Court in February struck down his "reciprocal" duties of 10% to 50% imposed last year.
The new tariffs, announced in a Federal Register notice, took effect at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Friday under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. Goods in transit are exempted until 12:01 a.m. EDT on July 28. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement, "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." He added, "Today's action will begin to correct what is both a human rights abuse and distortive trade practice to improve the welfare of workers everywhere."
Who Gets Hit—and How Hard
The U.S. imposed a 10% duty on goods from Argentina, Bangladesh, Britain, Cambodia, Canada, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, saying they had bans or plans to ban forced labor imports but weren't effectively enforcing such prohibitions. The European Union, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Switzerland were assigned rates that, combined with pre-existing most-favored-nation tariff rates, totaled 10% or 12.5%. The other 38 countries were assigned a 12.5% rate. These include Vietnam, which issued a new decree this week that sets out more detailed rules banning imports of goods made with forced labor, and China, accused by the U.S. of detaining Uyghur minorities in work camps, which Beijing denies.
China said it opposed all unilateral tariffs, adding that trade wars didn't serve any parties. Trump administration officials have told Chinese counterparts they intend to rebuild Trump's second-term tariffs on Chinese goods back up to the 20% that was agreed upon in a trade truce with Chinese President Xi Jinping in November 2025, but not exceed that level. Prior to Friday's action, China's tariff rate had fallen to 10%, excluding the 25% imposed during Trump's first term on industrial goods.
Canada, hit on Monday with new Trump tariffs on $20 billion worth of goods, issued a muted response. Dominic LeBlanc, Canada's minister in charge of U.S. trade, said, "We will continue engaging constructively with the United States on this matter, as well as other outstanding issues, over the coming weeks to the mutual benefit of our citizens." Australia and Brazil described the new tariffs as unjustified and said they'd seek to have them removed, while Norway said there was "no basis" for them.
What's Exempted—and What's Still Coming
Many goods will be exempted from the duties, including oil and gas, fertilizer, certain foodstuffs and goods already subject to Section 232 national security tariffs, such as autos, steel, aluminum and copper. Aircraft and parts will also be exempted, along with critical minerals. The Antwerp World Diamond Centre said the restored exemption was significant news for the local diamond sector. Belgium exported $2.1 billion of polished diamonds to the United States in 2024.
Kelly Ann Shaw, a former White House trade adviser in Trump's first term and a partner with the Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld law firm, said the new tariffs tracked what had been telegraphed, although some changes had been made, including the addition of some 471 products to an exclusion list. "I think this is more status quo in terms of the economic impact," she said.
But the new duties are also likely to face less legal risk as Section 301 has survived prior court challenges. They allow the administration to maintain a tariff floor on virtually all U.S. imports despite the Supreme Court setback. Former EU chief negotiator Ignacio Garcia Bercero, now a senior fellow at think tank Bruegel, said the United States had sought to ensure the new duties respected the tariff aspects of the EU-U.S. trade deal, but noted that additional tariffs from a further Section 301 investigation into excess capacity were still to come. That targets 16 trading partners, including the EU, China, India, Japan, South Korea and Switzerland.
Mixed Reactions From Trading Partners
A European Commission spokesperson said, "The EU notes positively the fact that this outcome is in line with the U.S. tariff commitments agreed under the EU-U.S. Joint Statement," adding it provided "positive momentum" to continue the work on exploring further tariff exemptions and deepening cooperation. Greer previously pledged that for countries with trade deals with Washington capping U.S. tariff rates, the new forced labor duties wouldn't push them above those caps.
French Trade Minister Nicolas Forissier said that, while the legal basis raised questions, the tariffs nonetheless provided greater visibility for businesses. While disputing the allegations underlying the forced labor investigation, the Swiss government also said the United States was adhering to past commitments on tariff ceilings, in its case of up to 12.5%.
Britain, which isn't a target of that second probe, said the latest move would have no negative effects. "Our agreement with the U.S. remains in place, and today we see an improvement to our trading terms with zero tariffs on whisky and medical technology," a government spokesperson said. The British Chamber of Commerce described the new tariffs as a mixed picture, with a welcome confirmation of the removal of U.S. tariffs on whisky, a lower tariff rate than competitors for steel, but a loss in comparative advantage over the EU and other countries for other goods.
Why This Matters:
The reimposition of sweeping tariffs on 60 countries affects nearly all U.S. imports and signals the Trump administration's determination to maintain a protectionist trade posture despite legal setbacks. While the forced labor justification invokes human rights concerns, the practical effect is higher costs for American consumers and businesses that rely on global supply chains. Workers in industries dependent on imported materials face uncertainty, while exporters in targeted countries—many of them lower-income nations—confront barriers to the U.S. market. The exemptions for oil, gas, and critical minerals reveal the selective nature of the policy, prioritizing certain sectors while exposing others to increased costs. With another round of tariffs targeting excess capacity still pending, the full economic impact on working families, small businesses, and international cooperation remains unclear. The muted response from Canada, a close ally hit with $20 billion in tariffs just days ago, underscores the strained relationships and limited recourse available to trading partners navigating an unpredictable U.S. trade policy.