By
Oliver Ward, Megan Messerly and Daniel Desrochers
President Donald Trump speaks during a press briefing at the White House.
Chen Mengtong/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images
The Trump administration on Thursday finalized new double-digit tariffs on dozens of U.S. trading partners as it seeks to reconstitute sweeping duties struck down by the Supreme Court in February.The new duties, which range from 10 to 12.5%, follow a five-month investigation into trading partners' efforts to root out products made with forced labor from their supply chains and are set to take effect just as a temporary global 10% tariff expires.Starting Friday, 17 trading partners — including Canada, the European Union, Indonesia, the United Kingdom and Mexico — will face a 10% duty, along with another 10 countries that agreed to address forced labor through signed trade agreements with the U.S.Another 43 other countries, including Japan, China, South Korea and Australia, will face a 12.5% tariff rate. The rates are in line with the investigation's preliminary findings, published in early June."Today's action is the most sweeping international labor rights action the United States has ever taken — that any country has ever taken," said a senior administration official, granted anonymity to preview the new tariffs. "It encourages stronger labor rights enforcement abroad, it will restore fairness in the global market for American workers, and it incentivizes our trading partners to join the United States in eliminating forced labor from global supply chains."A few countries were able to lower the tariff rate on their goods by implementing a forced labor ban after the proposed tariffs were first announced in June, including India, Trinidad and Tobago, Honduras, and Sri Lanka.While the new order maintains existing tariff exemptions for a wide array of products like coffee and goods compliant under a 2020 North American trade agreement, the administration also created more carveouts for products like cork, which primarily comes from Portugal, roses from Switzerland, and gems like diamonds and rubies from several countries.
