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The Trump administration rolled out a fresh batch of tariffs Thursday that will take effect when a prior round lapses at midnight, effectively replacing the global levies the Supreme Court struck down earlier this year with permanent duties related to forced labor.
President Donald Trump imposed the expiring tariffs following the February ruling, but the levies had a 150-day time limit that runs out Friday. The latest tariffs, which officials teased in June, will indefinitely apply to 59 countries and the European Union following investigations under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.
Countries that have implemented bans on forced labor will be tariffed at 10%, while those that have not will be tariffed at 12.5%. Senior administration officials pushed back on the idea the new levies were crafted explicitly to replace earlier tariffs, distinguishing them from a universal, global rate.
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Goods that were loaded onto ships before the new levies take effect will not be tariffed, the senior administration officials said, nor will certain imports like oil, gas, fertilizer, and cork. The Trump administration reviewed about 10,000 requests for exemptions, the officials said.
Also carved out: goods subject to the security-related tariffs imposed under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a new version of which officials are currently negotiating. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said this week he hoped to reach “potential interim agreements” that could stand in for the lapsing USMCA by the end of the year.
And more tariffs are on their way. Officials said that dozens of separate investigations under Section 232 and Section 301, including a probe into manufacturing practices that officials described as more complex than the forced labor investigation, are still underway. Trump this week also proposed new levies on some Canadian goods and prescription drugs and followed through with new tariffs on Brazil.