Dozens of America’s trading partners, from Europe to China to India, now face new tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on goods shipped to the United States, according to the office of the US Trade Representative.
The tariffs, announced Thursday, went into effect Friday morning. Goods from the 60 affected trading partners make up 99.4% of US imports.
The timing coincides with the lapse of a 10% near-blanket duty President Donald Trump imposed earlier this year that was deemed unlawful by the Supreme Court.
“The president is not going to allow his trade policy and overall objectives to be undermined simply because one tool may be limited by a court or something else,” senior White House officials told reporters Thursday on a call previewing the actions.
The latest action follows a monthslong investigation by the US Trade Representative into the alleged use of forced labor to produce goods exported to the US and the failure by various countries to address the practice.
