NewsMacroTrump Administration Unveils New Tariffs on 60 Trading Partners as Temporary Duties Expire

Trump Administration Unveils New Tariffs on 60 Trading Partners as Temporary Duties Expire

Author: Fox Business Markets·

Key Takeaways

  • The new tariffs will apply to imports from 60 trading partners starting Friday, replacing an expiring temporary global tariff with no gap between the two frameworks.
  • Canada, Mexico, India, and the United Kingdom will face a 10% tariff, while Taiwan and the European Union will be subject to a 12.5% rate.
  • U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer cited enforcement of forced labor import bans as the rationale, arguing American businesses face a competitive disadvantage.
  • Oil and gas, fertilizer, certain food products, and goods already subject to Section 232 national security tariffs are exempt from the new duties.
  • The tariff announcement is part of a broader series of trade actions this week, including a two-year tariff-free period for generic drugs and a planned 50% tariff on certain Canadian imports effective August 19.
Trump Administration Unveils New Tariffs on 60 Trading Partners as Temporary Duties Expire

The Trump administration is set to impose new tariffs of 10% and 12.5% on imports from 60 trading partners beginning Friday, as a temporary global tariff is scheduled to expire.

The move follows a Supreme Court ruling in February that struck down President Donald Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs ranging from 10% to 50%, which had been imposed last year. In response to the court's decision, Trump implemented a temporary 10% global tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which expires at 12:01 a.m. ET on Friday.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced Thursday that the new tariffs, imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, will take effect immediately upon the expiration of the temporary duties. The timing means importers will move from one tariff framework to another with no gap, although the administration says the new action is based on a separate legal rationale.

Canada, Mexico, India, and the United Kingdom are among the trading partners that will face a 10% tariff. Taiwan and the European Union are slated to face a 12.5% tariff.

"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," U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a news release.

A senior administration official told Reuters that the new tariffs are not intended to replace the expiring global duties, despite taking effect at the same time. The official argued that the United States enforces bans on goods made with forced labor more aggressively than any other country, placing American businesses at a competitive disadvantage.

Several product categories will be exempt from the new tariffs, including oil and gas, fertilizer, certain food products, and goods already subject to Section 232 national security tariffs — among them automobiles, steel, aluminum, and copper. Those exclusions are significant because they limit overlap with existing tariff regimes and leave some major import categories outside the new duties.

The announcement comes amid a series of new trade actions unveiled by the Trump administration this week, adding to a rapidly shifting tariff schedule for companies that rely on imported goods and materials. On Tuesday, Trump announced that imported generic drugs would remain tariff-free for two years before facing steep new duties, a measure he said is intended to encourage pharmaceutical companies to manufacture more medicines in the United States.

On Monday, Trump announced a 50% tariff on certain Canadian imports, citing what officials described as trade "discrimination" against American businesses. Those duties are scheduled to take effect August 19 under the Tariff Act of 1930 and will apply to a range of Canadian imports, including certain food products, apparel, synthetic materials, and industrial goods.

FOX Business' Brittany Miller and Bonny Chu, along with Reuters, contributed to this report.