U.S. Imposes 10%–12.5% Tariffs on 60 Trading Partners Over Forced-Labor Enforcement

On July 23, 2026, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced new tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on 60 economies, invoking Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 over what his office called their failure to enforce bans on goods produced with forced labor. Partners that committed to adopt and enforce prohibitions would face a 10% rate; those that had not would face 12.5%. The affected economies include the European Union, China, Japan, the United Kingdom, Taiwan and Mexico, and the duties took effect just after midnight on July 24. The action followed a March 2026 directive from Trump ordering the investigation and consultations with at least 45 countries.

The move extends the administration's use of executive tariff authority to reshape trade without new congressional legislation, attaching a human-rights rationale to duties that cover the vast majority of U.S. imports. Section 301 permits the executive branch to impose tariffs in response to trade practices it deems unfair, and applying it to forced-labor enforcement across nearly all major trading partners at once is an unusually broad use of that tool. The same 10%–12.5% rates had earlier been described as a replacement for tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court, which critics say raises questions about the underlying purpose.

The USTR said exemptions would apply where products cannot be grown or produced domestically or where duties would harm availability or the U.S. economy. The tariffs are in effect, and their durability may depend on further legal challenges and how trading partners respond.