Trump imposes new tariffs as temporary levies expire

President Donald Trump imposed a new round of double-digit tariffs on dozens of U.S. trading partners late Thursday, moving to keep broad import duties in place just as temporary global levies were set to expire Friday morning.

The new tariffs, ranging from 10% to 12.5%, target countries the administration says have not done enough to block goods made with forced labor from entering the United States. The Guardian reported that more than 80 countries are affected, while Al Jazeera reported the levies apply to 60 countries accounting for 99% of U.S. imports.

Major U.S. trading partners are included. Canada, Mexico, China, the United Kingdom, Australia, India and the 27 countries of the European Union are among those facing the new duties, according to The Guardian.

“The United States has had a forced labor import ban for nearly a century, and rigorously enforces it; it’s well past time for our trading partners to do the same,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement Thursday. “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.”

Countries that the U.S. trade representative says “have made commitments to adopt, and effectively enforce, forced labor import prohibitions” will face a 10% tariff. That group includes Canada, the European Union, India, Mexico and the United Kingdom. Countries that the office says have “failed to adopt a forced labor import prohibition,” including Australia, Brazil, China and Japan, will be subject to a 12.5% tariff.

The tariffs take effect as a temporary 10% worldwide tariff expires at 12:01 a.m. Friday in Washington. Trump imposed that stopgap levy under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 after the Supreme Court ruled in February that an earlier round of tariffs exceeded presidential authority.

In a 6-3 decision, the court found that the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act did not authorize Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs. The law gives the president expanded power during national emergencies to regulate international trade, but the court said the authority to tax during peacetime belongs to Congress.

“And they gave Congress ‘alone … access to the pockets of the people’,” the majority opinion said. “The Framers did not vest any part of the taxing power in the executive branch.”

The ruling forced the administration to refund importers that had paid the earlier levies. The temporary Section 122 tariffs could last only 150 days, and that period ended Friday.

The latest tariffs rely on Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows the president to impose import taxes and other sanctions after the U.S. trade representative investigates and finds evidence of “unjustifiable,” “unreasonable” or “discriminatory” trade practices affecting American commerce. Trump used Section 301 to impose tariffs on China during his first term, and those survived court challenges, Al Jazeera reported.

Legal challenges may follow. Alan Wolff, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and former deputy director-general of the World Trade Organization, wrote Thursday that the “new tariffs would represent another case of presidential overreach.” He added: “If they were challenged in court, the supreme court would likely overturn them.”

Trump has argued that higher tariffs will revive U.S. manufacturing and create jobs, and that the United States has been paying more than its fair share. His administration has maintained that tariffs benefit Americans.

The New York Federal Reserve estimated that 90% of the economic burden from tariffs has been passed on to U.S. consumers and businesses, according to The Guardian. A Harris Poll survey found that 72% of Americans believe tariffs have hurt consumers, including 64% of Republican voters.

More trade actions could follow. Greer’s office has launched an investigation into whether 16 countries, accounting for 70% of U.S. imports, have overproduced goods, lowered prices and put U.S. companies at a disadvantage in global markets. That investigation has not been completed.