Trump imposes forced labor tariffs on 60 trade partners

The administration of US President Donald Trump imposed new tariffs of 10% and 12.5% on imports from 60 trade partners, including the European Union and China, on Friday, citing alleged failures to enforce bans on forced labor. The move coincides with the expiration of a previous global tariff of 10%.

This step marks the latest White House effort to reinstate Trump’s vision of broad tariffs on nearly all countries, following the US Supreme Court’s February decision to strike down last year’s “reciprocal” tariffs of 10% to 50% imposed under a national emergency law aimed at reducing the US trade deficit.

The new tariffs, announced Thursday in the Federal Register, cover 99.4% of US imports but include multiple exemptions for products such as oil, gas, fertilizers, and certain food items.

Imposed under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act, the new tariffs enable the US administration to maintain a minimum tariff level on nearly all imports despite the Supreme Court setback. These tariffs are also expected to face fewer legal challenges, as Section 301 has withstood previous court scrutiny.

The previous temporary global tariffs of 10% expired at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on Friday (0401 GMT) after 150 days. The new tariffs took effect at that exact moment, with an exemption for goods in transit until 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on July 28.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement, “The United States has banned the import of products made with forced labor for nearly a century and enforces this ban rigorously. It is time for our trade partners to follow our lead.”

He added, “Today’s measures will begin to address what is both a human rights violation and a distortion of fair trade, aiming to improve conditions for workers everywhere.”

Greer previously stated that for countries with trade agreements with Washington that cap US tariff rates, the new forced labor tariffs would not exceed those maximums.

The US imposed 10% tariffs on imports from Argentina, Bangladesh, Britain, Cambodia, Canada, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Trinidad and Tobago, all of which are subject to the 10% rate.

For the European Union, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and Switzerland, the new rates—when added to existing tariffs—total either 10% or 12.5%.

The remaining 38 countries, including Vietnam—which this week issued a new decree specifying more detailed rules banning imports of goods made with forced labor—and China, which Washington accuses of detaining Uyghur minorities in labor camps (a claim Beijing denies), were assigned a 12.5% rate.

Trump administration officials told their Chinese counterparts that they intend to reimpose tariffs on Chinese goods up to the 20% level agreed in the November 2025 trade truce with President Xi Jinping, without exceeding that threshold.

Before Friday’s action, tariffs on Chinese goods had dropped to 10%, except for a 25% rate imposed during Trump’s first term on industrial products.

International opposition

The move immediately drew protests from some trade partners.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc considered the new tariffs a shock and dismissed Washington’s justification as baseless.

Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of ASEAN meetings in Manila, she said, “If you compare our labor laws to those in the United States, we offer paid leave and have very good working conditions for our employees, so this is not based on any real grounds.”

Australia and Brazil described the new tariffs as unjustified and said they would seek their removal, while Norway said there was “no basis” for them.

Canada—which faced new tariffs on $20 billion worth of goods on Monday—responded cautiously to what it called these “unilateral” measures.

A senior Trump administration official rejected suggestions that the forced labor tariffs were simply a direct replacement for the expired tariffs, despite the timing, similar rates, and their application to nearly all US imports.

The official said, “The United States enforces a stricter ban on imports made with forced labor and does so more rigorously than any other country, giving competitors an unfair trade advantage at the expense of the US.”

The official added, “Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress are demanding an end to forced labor in global supply chains, so we are effectively responding to that call.”

Trade attorney and former Commerce Department official Ryan Majerus said, “Challenging the new tariffs in court may be more difficult because Section 301 has survived previous challenges, and some judges may hesitate to issue orders limiting action against forced labor.”

The official also noted that many goods would be exempt from the tariffs, including oil, gas, fertilizers, certain foods, and items already subject to national security tariffs under Section 232, such as cars, steel, aluminum, and copper. Aircraft, their components, and critical minerals would also be exempt.