The US has imposed a new round of tariffs on imports from 60 of its largest trading partners, marking the latest escalation in the Trump administration's trade policy and extending uncertainty for businesses trading with the US.
These new measures apply tariffs of between ten percent and 12.5 percent on goods from countries including the EU, UK and China. According to the BBC, the Office of the US Trade Representative explained that the duties replace a temporary tariff regime that expired last week and cover countries accounting for 99.4 percent of US imports.
Washington says the tariffs are intended to address concerns that trading partners have failed to do enough to prevent forced labour in global supply chains. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the measures would "begin to correct what is both a human rights abuse and distortive trade practice to improve the welfare of workers everywhere".
However, several trade experts argue the measures are more closely linked to the administration's broader industrial and trade agenda than to forced labour enforcement.
"I think they were looking for a legal reason to put the tariffs in," said Caroline Freund, Dean of the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy, to the BBC. "Their goals... are about the trade deficit and ... US manufacturing, it is not about forced labor."
The new tariffs follow a US Supreme Court ruling earlier this year that struck down many of the administration's previous tariffs imposed under emergency powers, forcing Washington to seek alternative legal mechanisms to maintain its import duties.
While the latest measures broadly preserve existing tariff levels rather than introducing significantly higher rates, they continue to add costs and uncertainty for international businesses. Wendy Cutler, vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute, said the impact on businesses could be moderated by exemptions for certain products, but warned that many trading partners were likely to look at ways to "reduce their dependence on the US" by strengthening trade relationships elsewhere.
Several countries have criticised the announcement. Brazil described its new 12.5 percent tariff as "unjustified", while Japan and Australia also expressed concern. China rejected the forced labor allegations, stating that "there is no so-called forced labor in China" and accusing Washington of using the issue for political purposes.
Alongside country-specific tariffs on partners including Canada and Brazil, the administration is continuing investigations into manufacturing overcapacity that could lead to further duties on a number of major economies. Businesses trading with the US are therefore likely to face continued uncertainty as Washington pursues its strategy of using tariffs to support domestic manufacturing and reshape global trade relationships.