Dozens of U.S. trading partners, from Europe to China and India, now face new tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on goods shipped to the United States, according to the U.S. Trade Representative’s office.
The tariffs, announced Thursday, It went into effect Friday morning. Goods from the 60 affected trading partners account for 99.4% of U.S. imports.
The timing coincides with the expiration of a near-blanket 10% tax that President Donald Trump imposed earlier this year and which was deemed illegal by the Supreme Court.
“The president is not going to allow his trade policy and overall goals to be undermined simply because a tool may be limited by a court or something else,” senior White House officials told reporters Thursday on a pre-action call.
The latest action follows a month-long investigation by the U.S. Trade Representative into the alleged use of forced labor to produce goods exported to the United States and the failure of several countries to address the practice.
The European Union questioned the new tariff, with its foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, calling it a “negative surprise” and rejecting accusations of forced labor as unfounded. Switzerland also objected to the allegations, while Norway said it does not plan to retaliate by imposing tariffs on American products.
In a statement on Thursday, Brazil rejected the 12.5% tariff on its goods and reiterated its call for reciprocity. And in a video on social media, Mexico’s economy secretary said: “We do not see a change in the effective tariff that Mexico is paying today.”
Australia, subject to a 12.5% tariff, also expressed opposition to the new tariffs. Trade Minister Don Farrell told reporters on Friday that Washington’s move is “completely unjustified”, adding that Canberra would continue to pressure the United States to remove all tariffs on Australian goods.
The new rates apply to imports from countries that supply almost everything the United States buys abroad. Waivers were granted on a variety of imports, including oil and gas, as well as products that cannot be obtained domestically, administration officials said.
The timing of the implementation was intended to “avoid the complexity” that would arise from applying the new taxes on top of the existing 10% tariffs, administration officials said. They added that business leaders have been seeking more continuity and predictability around tariffs.
This marks a radical change from a year ago, when companies found themselves in the midst of Trump’s blistering, on-again, off-again tariffs. “We’ve heard loud and clear: people want to know what tariff rate they’re going to pay,” the administration official said.
“The real message everyone needs to understand is that the president will always use the tools at his disposal to achieve his trade policy objectives.”
Certain countries qualified for a lower rate of 10% instead of 12.5% after taking measures to combat alleged forced labor. But administration officials said they were not convinced that affected countries would eliminate the practice anytime soon and were prepared to keep taxes higher.
For most Americans, the change is unlikely to immediately translate into higher prices because it largely preserves the tariffs that importers have already been paying.
However, that may change in the coming weeks and months.
There are several other investigations pending that rely on the same trade law, Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, that was used to enact the new tariffs. One focuses on accusations that major trading partners – including China, Mexico and the European Union – are contributing to global manufacturing overcapacity.
Trade experts consider Section 301 tariffs to be a more legally durable option because they have survived previous court challenges, unlike the emergency authority Trump used last April for his broader “Liberation Day” tariff regime. They can also remain in effect indefinitely.
The administration is exploring additional ways to increase border taxes. Earlier this week, the White House announced a 50% tariff on certain Canadian products that will take effect next month under a never-before-used provision of the Smoot-Hawley Trade Act.
This story has been updated with additional information.