The United States on Thursday announced it will impose new tariffs, ranging from 10-12.5%, on 60 trading partners, including Pakistan, India, China and the European Union, over forced labor concerns, effectively replacing a global duty rolled out by U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this year and set aside by the Supreme Court.
“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, adding the targeted economies represented the majority of U.S. trade.
Under the new determination, the U.S. would impose 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. The European Union, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Switzerland were assigned rates that, combined with preexisting “most-favored-nation” tariff rates, would total 10% or 12.5%.
The remaining 38 countries, including China, face a 12.5% rate.
The announcement aims to rebuild Trump’s “tariff wall” after the Supreme Court struck down duties imposed earlier this year, hampering his ability to unleash steep levies at will. After the setback, Trump tapped different authorities to re-impose a 10% tariff on imports, but that measure expired Friday (today). According to the Trump administration, these measures are more resistant to legal challenges than earlier moves.
Many affected countries were quick to condemn the move. Japanese government spokesman Minoru Kihara said Tokyo “regrets” the tariffs, noting the higher rate is “solely on the grounds that there is no ban on the import of products produced through forced labor.” Australia’s trade minister Don Farrell similarly dubbed the tariffs “unjustified,” arguing they were “inconsistent with our free trade agreement, and should be removed.”
Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said there was no basis for this tariff against Norway, “because we already have clear rules that are intended to prevent trade in goods produced using forced labor.” Canadian minister Dominic LeBlanc said the country would 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.”
Goods with sector-specific tariffs, such as steel and aluminum, are exempt, as are goods covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada free trade pact.
According to reports, Washington is also investigating 16 economies over excess industrial capacity, which could trigger additional duties.