Trump announces double digit tariffs on 60 countries over forced labour concerns

The administration of US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday a fresh round of tariffs targeting roughly 60 trading partners around the world. According to multiple consistent reports, the countries affected include major economies such as the European Union, China, India, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. The tariff rates are set between 10 and 12.5 percent. The administration justified the move by citing concerns that these countries have failed to adequately curb imports of goods produced using forced labor. The new duties took effect on Friday, replacing a previous blanket global tariff of 10 percent that was set to expire at that time.

The timing is closely tied to a legal setback the Trump administration suffered earlier this year. The US Supreme Court had previously struck down or limited broader tariff measures the administration had attempted to implement. The newly announced tariffs instead rely on so-called Section 301 investigations, a tool under US trade law that allows the government to act against what it deems unfair trade practices by individual countries. According to the news agency Anadolu, the trading partners affected by the new measures account for 99.4 percent of US imports from the economies under investigation.

Reports differ somewhat on the exact number of countries affected. While several news agencies and outlets cite a figure of 60 countries, the Guardian reports that more than 80 countries are affected by the new tariffs. This discrepancy may partly stem from different ways of counting — for instance, whether the 27 individual member states of the European Union are counted separately or as a single bloc. What is clear, however, is that the EU as a whole, along with numerous individual countries across Asia, North America and other regions, is covered by the measures.

There are also minor discrepancies in reporting on the specific tariff rates. Several outlets, including Yonhap and the Japan Times, report that South Korea and Japan will face the higher rate of 12.5 percent, while goods from the EU and Taiwan will be taxed at a minimum of 10 percent. India, according to India Today, will face a 10 percent tariff and is reportedly among a group of 17 countries specifically flagged over forced labor concerns. A report from Nikkei Asia suggests that India had already taken steps prior to the official announcement to protect its roughly one-trillion-dollar export target from such allegations.

Canada appears to occupy a special position in the coverage. According to Canada's Globe and Mail, most Canadian goods will be exempt from the new tariffs, even though Canada is officially listed among the targeted countries. This suggests that the implementation of the measures varies in detail, with not all affected countries or product categories necessarily subject to the full rates.

The announcement is part of a longer series of trade measures the Trump administration has pursued in recent months, marked by shifting tariff packages. After the Supreme Court limited earlier, broader tariff measures, the administration had introduced a temporary global duty of 10 percent as a stopgap. That measure was time-limited and was set to expire, which appears to have prompted the administration to establish a more durable framework based on a different legal foundation — the forced labor allegations pursued through Section 301 proceedings.

Several questions remain open based on current reporting, including exactly how the tariffs will be applied to specific product categories and what exemptions, if any, exist for particular countries or goods. The legal durability of the new measures under the Section 301 process is also not yet fully clear, particularly given the earlier judicial challenges to the administration's previous tariff tools. It is likely that affected countries and trading partners will respond, whether through diplomatic protests, negotiations for exemptions, or retaliatory measures of their own.

Given the size of the economies involved — including China, India, Japan, South Korea and the entire European Union — the economic impact of the new tariffs could be substantial. Because the measures take effect almost simultaneously with the expiration of the previous tariff arrangement, businesses and trading partners have had little time to adjust. How the new tariff rates will affect global supply chains and trade relationships over the longer term remains to be seen.