US imposes new forced labour tariffs on 80 countries as the 10 per cent global tariffs expire

The United States has announced new tariffs which, from midnight US time on Thursday, will replace expiring global tariffs of 10 per cent. The new tariffs, as expected, range from 10 per cent to 12.5 per cent and relate to the inadequate efforts to combat forced labour. They were decided under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows the US President to impose anti-discrimination measures following an investigation.

Numerous major partners, from Canada to the European Union, are now affected by the new 10 per cent levies, despite the fact that Canada already has legislation in place against forced labour and the EU has a new law due to come into force in 2027.

The White House accuses its partners of failing to ensure compliance with the agreement. For the EU, however, tariffs should remain below the 15 per cent ceiling set out in the bilateral trade agreement.

The US Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, has estimated that 99 per cent of US imports will be affected by the measures. These had been foreshadowed earlier in the day by White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, although she did not provide any details on the content of the announcement. “I don’t want to pre-empt it, so I would ask you to wait for further information,” she had said during the press briefing. Further tariffs are still under consideration by the administration.

The across-the-board 10 per cent tariffs, introduced in February after the Supreme Court had ruled that a key part of Donald Trump’s previous tariff regime was unlawful, were temporary in nature and were due to expire overnight, at the end of the 150-day period provided for in the legislation used by the White House.