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The Trump administration made what could be the first in a steady drumbeat of tariff news, announcing plans for a 10% tariff on top allies like the European Union and Canada and a 12.5% rate on other nations, including China.
The release from Trump’s trade representative on Tuesday evening said that 59 countries and the 27 member states of the EU had failed to counteract goods being made with forced labor and that the practice “burdens or restricts U.S. commerce” and is therefore ripe for action later this summer under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.
The reaction was immediate, with the EU calling the move “unjustified” in a statement.
On Monday, the Trump administration announced a 25% tariff on Brazil, levied under the same authority.
This week’s announcements could be just the beginning as other Section 301 investigations are ongoing — most notably one focused on excess structural capacity that also includes many major trading partners. Another is focused on Vietnam. Both are scheduled to conclude in the weeks ahead.
Read more: 5 ways to tariff-proof your finances
The two announcements this week signal a kickoff of long-planned efforts to implement a permanent replacement to tariffs imposed in 2025 that were struck down by the Supreme Court in February.
Trump’s team levied a temporary measure in February, imposing a 10% “global tariff” under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, but that power expires in late July.
Augustine Lo, a trade attorney at the firm Dorsey & Whitney, noted that “the proposed remedies closely track” both previous trade deals, as well as the 10% tariff under Section 122.
“Given other potential looming tariffs under the companion Section 301 investigation and the end of the U.S.-China trade truce in November, some companies may be weighing options to stockpile or front-load their imports to hedge against the uncertainty,” Lo added.
Read more: What Trump’s tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet
Wide-ranging duties — and more potentially to come
The forced labor report spanned 98 pages and was the culmination of 60 different investigations. In all, 14 nations and the entire EU received a recommendation of a 10% duty.
Another 45 countries are set to face a 12.5% rate, including major trading partners like Japan and South Korea, as well as China.
Tuesday’s announcement also included some exceptions, with plans for “a textile mechanism” to allow certain apparel imports to be taxed at a lower rate.
Other exempted sectors include energy and rare earth minerals, some food products such as beef and coffee, and aircraft parts.
