US tariff hikes linked to claims of foreign labor dismay and anger trading partners
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- Trump's administration imposed new tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on 60 economies late Thursday, effective at 12:01 a.m. Friday as stopgap levies expired following the administration's stinging Supreme Court defeat.
- Australia Trade Minister Don Farrell rejected the 12.5% hike — up from 10% under last year's "Liberation Day" duties — as "completely unjustified," insisting his country takes modern slavery seriously and pledging to lobby the U.S. Trade Representative for removal.
- New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon called the 12.5% tariff "extremely disappointing" and said the underlying U.S. investigation provided no meaningful evidence of forced labor, writing on X that "tariffs drive up costs and uncertainty for businesses."
- Japan protested the tariff despite earlier Trump administration assurances that no additional duties would stack on its existing 10% agreement, with Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara calling the move "regrettable."
- South Korea's trade ministry welcomed that combined duties should not exceed 15% and said it would preserve a "balance of benefits" with Washington, even as a separate Section 301 investigation into alleged Korean excess production continues.
- Former U.S. trade official Wendy Cutler said the new duties are less likely to be overruled by courts than earlier rounds and warned further tariffs tied to "structural excess capacity" of trading partners may arrive in the fall.
- BNP Paribas' William Bratton noted these tariffs are lower than the earlier "reciprocal" duties and exempt a substantial share of Asia's trade flows with the U.S., though they will still contribute to higher prices for consumers and businesses importing inputs.
- EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas pushed back on the U.S. labor rationale in remarks to Channel News Asia, saying European labor conditions including paid vacations are stronger than those in the United States, so the claim is "not really grounded."
Why it matters: Trading partners are being hit with a fresh tariff layer stacking on top of existing "Liberation Day" duties for reasons they explicitly deny, and former U.S. officials say this Section 301 round is more legally durable than its predecessors. With further tariffs tied to "structural excess capacity" flagged for the fall and a separate Korean Section 301 probe still open, importers and end consumers face persistent cost pressure and policy uncertainty.
