US Imposes New Tariffs on 60 Countries

Over Forced Labour Concerns

Report By Y-Trendz

Washington, July 24, 2026 — The Trump administration has imposed a fresh round of tariffs on 60 countries, citing their failure to adequately curb the import of goods produced using forced labour. The

new levies, ranging from 10% to 12.5%, took effect at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, replacing a set of temporary global tariffs that were set to expire the same day. Together, the affected countries account for roughly 99% of all US imports, making this one of the broadest tariff actions of Donald Trump's presidency.

Legal Basis and Background

The move was announced Thursday by US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, invoking Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 — a statute that permits tariffs in response to unfair trade practices, but only after a formal government investigation. That probe, which included two rounds of public hearings and drew more than 2,100 public comments, concluded this week after being launched in March, when the USTR first opened Section 301 investigations into 60 economies over forced labour concerns.

The action fills a legal vacuum created earlier this year when the US Supreme Court struck down Trump's sweeping "Liberation Day" tariffs, ruling in February that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) did not authorise the president to impose tariffs on the basis of trade deficits. In the wake of that defeat, the administration had turned to Section 122 of the Trade Act, which allowed a flat 10% tariff on most global imports but for a maximum of 150 days — a window that closed Friday, prompting the pivot to the new forced-labour-based levies.

A senior administration official described the new measure as "the most sweeping international labor rights action the United States has ever taken, that any country has ever taken," framing forced labour enforcement as both a human rights issue and a matter of fair competition, since countries that fail to police forced labour in their supply chains are said to gain an "unfair advantage" over the United States.

How the Tariffs Are Structured

The tariffs are split into two broad tiers. Most of the 60 trading partners — including Vietnam and China — will face the higher 12.5% rate, reserved for countries deemed to have no meaningful prohibitions on forced-labour-linked imports. A lower 10% rate applies to 17 countries that have already enacted at least some restrictions on forced labour, including the United Kingdom, Canada and Mexico. Five additional trading partners, including the European Union, will face supplementary levies calibrated to bring their overall most-favoured-nation tariff rate up to either the 10% or 12.5% threshold.

Administration officials noted that some countries had improved their standing since the investigation began by tightening forced labour enforcement, qualifying them for the lower tariff tier. Certain categories of goods are exempted from the new duties altogether, including oil and gas, products not manufactured domestically in the US, goods where tariffs would not meaningfully advance the policy's anti-forced-labour goals, and items such as steel already subject to separate sector-specific tariffs under Section 232. Many goods compliant with the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) are also carved out from the new levies.

Trading Partners React

The list of affected countries spans major US allies and adversaries alike, including Australia, Canada, the European Union, Britain, Israel, India, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, China and Russia. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney had earlier accused Washington of violating the USMCA after Trump imposed separate 50% levies on some Canadian products, though he indicated Canada would "engage intensively to address any outstanding issues" rather than immediately retaliate. In a related sign of trade friction, Canada cancelled a joint opening ceremony for the Gordie Howe Bridge with the United States following the tariff actions.

Part of a Broader Tariff Strategy

Thursday's action is one of several fronts in the Trump administration's effort to rebuild its global tariff architecture after the Supreme Court ruling. The administration has separately imposed 25% tariffs on Brazil this week under a different Section 301 investigation, and is pursuing a broader probe into whether more than a dozen countries have built up unfair "excess capacity" in manufacturing. Other duties — on steel, aluminum, and car parts — remain in place under Section 232, while a separate law, Section 338, was invoked this week to impose tariffs on Canadian milk, alcohol and hockey equipment.

A senior official signaled that further tariff actions are likely regardless of legal setbacks, saying the president would not allow trade objectives "to be undermined simply because one tool may be limited by a court or something else." Economists have repeatedly warned that broad tariff regimes risk raising consumer prices and slowing economic growth, even as the administration frames the measures as necessary to revive US manufacturing and enforce fair trade practices worldwide.

---

This report is based on verified coverage from CBS News, Reuters, NPR, France 24, The Hill, and the Office of the US Trade Representative, as of July 24, 2026.