US unveils new tariffs on 60 partners as Trump rebuilds trade agenda
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- USTR Jamieson Greer announced tariffs ranging from 10% to 12.5% on 60 trading partners effective Friday, framed as forced-labor enforcement: "it's well past time for our trading partners to do the same."
- China and Japan were assigned the higher 12.5% rate while Canada, the EU, and the UK received the lower 10% rate for already having forced-labor import prohibitions in place.
- The duties are built on Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which former US trade official Ryan Majerus said offers "more flexibility than people realise," and are designed to survive the kind of court challenges that killed Trump's February tariffs.
- Goods under USMCA and those already facing sector-specific tariffs on steel and aluminum are exempt, while Washington is separately probing 16 economies over excess industrial capacity in moves that could yield additional differentiated duties.
- Trump separately ordered 50% tariffs on many Canadian products this week citing "discriminatory treatment" of American alcohol, autos, and dairy — using an untested legal provision that Atlantic Council's Josh Lipsky said shows tariff deals remain "fragile."
Why it matters: Built on Section 301 after the Supreme Court struck down Trump's earlier duties, this framework gives the administration a durable trade weapon that former USTR general counsel Greta Peisch expects to outlast his term. Layering 60-country forced-labor tariffs, 16-economy industrial-capacity probes, and 50% Canadian duties across every available legal avenue signals a more permanent protectionist US trade regime.
