This article is from The Associated Press.

The latest tariffs are based on Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which grants the president authority to retaliate against alleged unfair trade practices.

Published On 24 Jul 202624 Jul 2026

President Donald Trump is proceeding with new double-digit tariffs on numerous US trading partners as the temporary duties he imposed after a Supreme Court setback expire on Friday.

The United States will apply tariffs of 10 to 12.5 percent on goods from 60 nations, which together represent 99 percent of US imports, alleging those countries have failed to properly enforce bans on forced labor products.

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“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,” US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement on 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.”

The new tariffs will take effect just as the temporary 10 percent worldwide tariffs expire at 12:01am on Friday in Washington, DC (04:01 GMT). Trump had turned to the temporary levies after the Supreme Court struck down his biggest and boldest tariffs in February.

Now he is tapping more durable tariffs under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which permits the president to impose import taxes and other sanctions against countries found to engage in “unjustifiable”, “unreasonable”, or “discriminatory” trade practices.

Trump used Section 301 to impose big tariffs on China in his first term, and they survived court challenges.

More Section 301 tariffs are likely coming: Greer’s office has launched a probe into whether 16 countries — accounting for 70 percent of US imports — have overproduced goods, pushing down prices and putting US companies at a disadvantage in global markets.

The administration has yet to complete that investigation.

Trump, who argues that high tariffs will revive US manufacturing, last year overturned decades of US policy that favoured lower tariffs and freer trade.

Invoking the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), he imposed double-digit tariffs on imports from almost every country, saying that the US’s longstanding trade deficit amounted to a national emergency.

But the Supreme Court ruled that IEEPA did not authorise tariffs. The decision forced the Trump administration to pay refunds to importers that had paid the levies.

In response, Trump announced 10 percent worldwide tariffs under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. But he can only use Section 122 levies for 150 days, and the time runs out on Friday.

The new duties take effect immediately after the earlier 10 percent global tariffs expire at 12:01 a.m. Friday. The administration argues that the affected countries have inadequately enforced forced labor import bans. Critics worry the move could escalate trade tensions and disrupt global supply chains. The Section 301 provision has survived legal challenges previously, including in tariffs on China. More tariffs may be forthcoming as the USTR probes 16 additional countries for overproduction that could harm US competitiveness.