U.S. sets new tariffs on 60 countries as temporary duties expire

The U.S. Trade Representative on Thursday announced a wave of tariffs on dozens of countries in order to replace President Donald Trump’s temporary 10% tariff, which expires at midnight eastern time.

Sixty different trading partners, including all of the country’s most important, will face tariffs of 10% to 12.5%, according to a fact sheet. Those new duties will take effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on Friday morning.

The U.S. Trade Representative’s office has carried out months-long investigations into the trading practices of other countries in order to impose these tariffs. The wave of levies will be enacted under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, a different statute than how most tariffs have previously been authorized.

In February, the Supreme Court struck down most of Trump’s tariffs that were imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The high court ruled that the Trump administration exceeded its authority.

Under the statute, the administration says that it found that these 60 economics have failed “to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor.”

Key trading partners, such as the European Union, strongly rejected that accusation even before Thursday’s final determination was issued.

“The United States has had a forced labor import ban for nearly a century, and rigorously enforces it; it’s well past time for our trading partners to do the same,” said Ambassador Jamieson Greer in a news release.

Greer’s probe into the 60 countries has been ongoing since mid-March, as the administration mulled which tariff statute to turn to next.

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