As the current 10% tax expires, President Trump will impose new tariffs on 60 countries with forced labor provisions.
Published July 24, 2026
President Donald Trump is moving forward with plans to impose new double-digit tariffs on dozens of U.S. trading partners just before the expiration on Friday of stopgap levies he announced after a painful Supreme Court defeat.
The United States plans to impose taxes of 10 to 12.5 percent on imports from 60 countries, which account for 99 percent of U.S. imports, citing insufficient bans on products produced using forced labor.
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“The United States has had a forced labor import ban for nearly a century and strictly enforces it. It is long past time for our trading partners to do the same,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamison Greer said in a statement Thursday.
“Today’s action begins to correct both human rights abuses and distortive trade practices to improve the well-being of workers everywhere.”
The new tariffs will take effect at the same time as the temporary 10% tariff worldwide expires at 12:01 a.m. (4:01 p.m. Japan time) in Washington, D.C., on Friday. President Trump had been eyeing a temporary levy after the Supreme Court struck down his biggest and most drastic tariffs in February.
He is now imposing more permanent tariffs under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows the president to impose import taxes and other sanctions on countries deemed to engage in “unfair,” “unreasonable,” or “discriminatory” trade practices.
During his first term, President Trump used Section 301 to impose massive tariffs on China and survive court challenges.
Additionally, tariffs under Section 301 are likely to apply. Mr. Greer’s office has launched an investigation into whether 16 countries that account for 70% of U.S. imports are overproducing products, driving down prices and putting U.S. companies at a disadvantage in global markets.
The administration has not yet completed its investigation.
President Trump last year reversed decades of U.S. policy favoring lower tariffs and freer trade, arguing that high tariffs would revive U.S. manufacturing.
He invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA), saying America’s longstanding trade deficit constituted a national emergency and imposed double-digit tariffs on imports from nearly every country.
However, the Supreme Court ruled that IEEPA does not authorize tariffs. The decision forced the Trump administration to pay refunds to importers who paid the levy.
In response, President Trump announced a 10% tariff worldwide under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. But he only has 150 days to exercise the Section 122 levy, which expires on Friday.
John Diamond, director of the Baker Institute’s Center on Tax and Budget Policy, said the administration was looking for new authority to replace the expired tariffs and decided to apply Section 301.
“It’s a bit ridiculous to think that over 60 major trading partners, including EU member states, actually rely on forced labor to such an extent. It’s hard to believe,” Diamond told Al Jazeera. “But I don’t think the courts will try to overturn these tariffs like they did with the IEEPA tariffs.”
