President Donald Trump’s administration is imposing new tariffs of between 10% and 12.5% on imports from 60 countries, replacing temporary worldwide levies that were scheduled to expire. The affected countries account for approximately 99% of goods imported into the United States, making the policy a significant expansion of the administration’s effort to restructure American trade relationships. The White House says the new duties are intended to pressure governments to strengthen their enforcement against products made with forced labor.
The tariffs take effect as the administration’s temporary 10% global import tax reaches its legal expiration. Trump introduced those stopgap duties after the Supreme Court rejected his earlier attempt to impose sweeping tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The court determined that the 1977 law did not grant the president authority to use emergency powers for tariffs, forcing the government to refund importers that had paid the invalidated charges.
To maintain his trade agenda, Trump then relied on Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which permits temporary tariffs but limits them to 150 days. With that period ending, the administration has now shifted to Section 301 of the same law. This provision allows the president to impose trade restrictions against countries whose policies are judged to be unreasonable, discriminatory or unjustifiable. Section 301 was also used during Trump’s first term to impose tariffs on Chinese products, and those measures survived legal challenges.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said foreign governments have failed to enforce meaningful prohibitions on goods produced with forced labor. The administration argues that weak enforcement creates both a human-rights problem and an unfair commercial advantage for companies benefiting from exploited workers. Officials say some governments strengthened their policies after the tariffs were initially proposed, allowing them to qualify for lower rates. India’s planned tariff, for example, was reduced from 12.5% to 10%.
Certain imports will be exempt, including oil, natural gas and fertilizer. Goods qualifying for duty-free treatment under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement will also be spared. However, because the new tariffs cover such a large share of U.S. imports, they could still affect a broad range of businesses and consumer products. American importers pay tariffs directly and often recover the additional expense by raising prices, meaning consumers may ultimately carry much of the financial burden.
The timing creates political risk for the administration. The tariffs are being introduced before the November midterm elections, when voters are already concerned about the cost of living. Trump maintains that import taxes will encourage companies to manufacture more goods in the United States, create jobs and reduce the country’s dependence on foreign suppliers. Critics argue that broad tariffs can increase costs for families and businesses without guaranteeing a major revival in domestic manufacturing.
Human-rights advocates offered cautious support for the objective while questioning the policy’s design. Forced labor affects an estimated 27.6 million people worldwide, according to the International Labor Organization’s most recent data. Advocates said import bans and commercial penalties can encourage governments to confront labor exploitation, but they warned that tariffs alone may produce only superficial reforms unless countries receive time, guidance and resources to establish credible enforcement systems.
Some experts also criticized the administration for assessing countries partly according to the products they import rather than concentrating exclusively on goods manufactured within their borders. Nevertheless, the threat of tariffs appears to have encouraged countries, including India, to revise trade policies and introduce forced-labor restrictions. European Union regulations scheduled to take effect later are adding further international pressure.
More tariffs may follow. The U.S. Trade Representative is separately investigating whether 16 countries have produced excessive quantities of goods, lowered global prices and disadvantaged American businesses. Those countries account for roughly 70% of U.S. imports.
The new measures demonstrate Trump’s determination to preserve a high-tariff economic strategy despite the Supreme Court’s earlier ruling, while presenting labor rights as the legal and political justification for a broader restructuring of U.S. trade policy.
