A sweeping new round of US import tariffs has landed on goods from 60 trading partners — including the European Union and China — as the Trump administration accuses countries of failing to properly police bans on forced-labour products, timed to coincide with the end of a temporary 10% levy that had applied worldwide.
The decision marks the White House’s latest attempt to revive President Donald Trump’s campaign push for a near-universal tariff regime after the US Supreme Court in February struck down his so-called “reciprocal” duties — ranging from 10% to 50% — that were imposed last year under a national emergencies law aimed at reducing the US trade deficit.
Detailed late last night in a Federal Register notice, the new measures set duties of 10% and 12.5% on imports that account for 99.4% of US inbound trade. The notice also outlines wide-ranging exemptions, including oil and gas, fertiliser and certain food items.
By using Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, the administration is seeking to preserve a tariff floor across virtually all imports despite the Supreme Court ruling.
The EU and China were among the trading partners hit by the tariffs
Because Section 301 has previously survived court challenges, the new tariff regime is widely seen as carrying less legal exposure than the duties struck down earlier this year.
Mr Trump’s temporary 10% global tariff expired at 5am Irish time after 150 days.
The new duties began at the same moment, while goods already in transit will be exempt until 5am Irish time on 28 July.
“The United States has had a forced labour import ban for nearly a century, and rigorously enforces it. It’s well past time for our trading partners to do the same,” US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement.
“Today’s action will begin to correct what is both a human rights abuse and distortive trade practice to improve the welfare of workers everywhere.”
Mr Greer has previously said that in cases where countries have already struck agreements with Washington that cap US tariff levels, the new forced-labour duties would not lift them beyond those limits.
The US imposed a 10% duty on goods of Argentina, Bangladesh, Britain, Cambodia, Canada, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago.
The European Union, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Switzerland received rates that, when combined with existing most-favoured-nation tariff levels, totalled 10% or 12.5%.
The remaining 38 countries were assigned a 12.5% rate.
Those include Vietnam — which this week issued a new decree laying out more detailed rules banning imports of goods made with forced labour — and China, which the US has accused of detaining Uyghur minorities in work camps, an allegation Beijing denies.
Trump administration officials have told Chinese counterparts they plan to rebuild Mr Trump’s second-term tariffs on Chinese goods back up to the 20% agreed in a trade truce with Chinese President Xi Jinping in November 2025 — but not go beyond that level.
Before this action, China’s tariff rate had dropped to 10%, not counting the 25% imposed during Mr Trump’s first term on industrial goods.
Countries protest
The announcement quickly drew objections from several capitals.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc regarded the new tariffs as a shock and argued that Washington’s justification did not add up.
“If you compare our labor laws to the ones of the United States, I mean, we have paid vacations, we have very good labour conditions for our employees, so it’s not really grounded,” she told Reuters on the sidelines of ASEAN meetings in Manila.
Australia and Brazil called the tariffs unjustified and said they would push for their removal, while Norway said there was “no basis” for the move.
Canada to consider retaliating against latest Trump tariffs, Carney says
Canada — hit on Monday with new Trump tariffs on $20 billion worth of goods — offered a restrained response to what it described as “unilateral” action.
“We will continue engaging constructively with the United States on this matter, as well as other outstanding issues, over the coming weeks to the mutual benefit of our citizens,” said Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s minister in charge of US trade.
Kelly Ann Shaw, a former White House trade adviser in Mr Trump’s first term and now a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, said the final package largely matched what had been signalled in advance, though she noted revisions — including the addition of about 471 products to an exclusion list.
“I think this is more status quo in terms of the economic impact,” she said.
Shaw added that partners such as the EU had secured tariff caps, meaning their revised rates would come in below what earlier arrangements might otherwise have produced.
A senior Trump administration official rejected the idea that the forced-labour tariffs were simply a like-for-like replacement for the expiring levies, despite the identical timing, similar duty levels and the fact they span nearly all US imports.
The official said the US has stronger import bans on goods made with forced labour and enforces them more rigidly than any other country, which the administration argues gives competitors an unfair advantage.
Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress have been calling for the eradication of forced labor from global supply chains,” so we’re really responding to that call,” the official said.
The US Supreme Court in February struck down Donald Trump’s ‘reciprocal’ duties of 10% to 50% imposed last year
Ryan Majerus, a trade lawyer and former Commerce Department official, said Section 301 could make the new measures more difficult to overturn, with courts potentially reluctant to block actions framed as curbing forced labour.
“Once the 301 duties are placed, they have a lot of flexibility to adjust them,” said Majerus, a partner at King and Spalding. “It’s a sledgehammer. It’s also intended to keep the…10% baseline in place, and they think they’re well protected when this goes to court.”
Many categories will not face the new duties, including oil and gas, fertiliser, certain foodstuffs and products already covered by Section 232 national security tariffs — such as autos, steel, aluminum and copper — the official said.
Aircraft and parts will also be exempted, along with critical minerals.
Goods that meet the requirements of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement will also be exempted, reflecting the tightly integrated North American supply chain and the high share of US content in those products.
McEntee confirms ‘no stacking’ of exising tariffs
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Helen McEntee said the new US tariffs regime, which is effective from today, replaces the section 122 tariffs.
The Minister added that they are in line with the commitments under the Turnberry agreement, which includes an all-inclusive ceiling of 15%.
“This is welcome and shows the clear value of the agreement. It also confirms that there will be no stacking of existing tariffs, which had been an area of concern for us for some of our agrifood exports, including dairy,” Helen McEntee said.
She said that along with the country’s European partners, the Government will undertake a detailed review of the legal notice from the US to fully understand the implications.
“However, the outcome of what has been published is in line with expectations following my phone call with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Tuesday,” she said.
“As we continue with the implementation of the Joint Statement, we will focus on exploring further tariff exemptions for key products and sectors for the EU and Irish economies,” she stated.
“As EU Presidency, the Government will focus on dialogue and on giving as much certainty and clarity as possible to Irish and European businesses,” she added.
But Chambers Ireland has today expressed concern at the latest US decision to impose new tariffs on imports from a wide range of trading partners, including the European Union.
Chambers Ireland CEO Ian Talbot said that the US remains Ireland’s largest export market but today’s announcement is another reminder that businesses are operating in an increasingly uncertain trading environment.
“With almost half of our goods exports destined for the US, businesses need confidence that trading conditions will remain stable and predictable over the long term,” Mr Talbot said.
He said the response from Ireland and the European Union to the US tariffs must be to maintain strong trading relationships while expanding access to new markets and reducing reliance on any single destination.
“This development should provide renewed impetus for the EU to conclude and implement trade agreements with key partners. Progress on Free Trade Agreements, alongside negotiations with India, Indonesia and other growing economies, would expand market access for Irish businesses and help them build more resilient supply chains,” Mr Talbot stated.
He said that with Ireland holding the EU presidency, there is a significant opportunity to unlock the full potential of the Single Market by reducing trade barriers and making it easier for businesses to benefit from access to a market of over 400 million consumers.
