Trump Imposes New 10-12.5% Import Tariffs, Indonesia Included
United States President Donald Trump has imposed new import tariffs of 10 per cent and 12.5 per cent on goods from 60 trading partners, including the European Union. The policy takes effect from today, Friday (24/7/2026).
As reported by detikFinance, the US government reasoned that the policy was applied because a number of countries were deemed to lack adequate enforcement of the ban on imports of products made using forced labour. The new tariffs take effect after the temporary 10 per cent tariff imposed for 150 days officially expired.
Citing Reuters, based on the final decision, the US will impose a 10 per cent tariff on goods from Argentina, Bangladesh, the United Kingdom, Cambodia, Canada, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Meanwhile, the European Union, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and Switzerland face tariffs which, when combined with the most-favoured-nation (MFN) tariffs already in force, will amount to 10 per cent or 12.5 per cent. A further 38 countries, including China, are subject to a 12.5 per cent tariff.
The move is the White House’s latest effort to revive Trump’s campaign vision of imposing near-universal tariffs on imports.
Previously, in February, the US Supreme Court struck down Trump’s reciprocal tariff policy of 10-50 per cent imposed last year under national emergency legislation to pressure the US trade deficit.
The new tariffs, announced via a notice in the Federal Register on Thursday, will cover 99.4 per cent of US imports, but a number of products are exempted, such as oil and gas, fertilisers, and certain foodstuffs.
The tariffs are imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act 1974, meaning the government can still apply minimum tariffs to nearly all imported goods even though the previous policy was struck down by the Supreme Court. This legal basis is also considered stronger, as it has previously survived various legal challenges.
Following the US Supreme Court ruling in February, Trump imposed a temporary 10 per cent tariff for 150 days, which expired at 00:01 EDT Friday (04:01 GMT). The new tariffs take effect at the same time, while goods still in transit receive an exemption until 28 July.
“The United States has had a ban on imports of forced-labour products for nearly a century and enforces it rigorously. It is time for our trading partners to do the same,” said US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
Countries that have reached trade agreements with the US limiting tariff levels will not see their tariffs exceed the agreed caps under these new forced-labour-related tariffs. Those agreements also contain provisions on the prohibition of forced labour.
Greer assured that the new tariffs will not result in countries that already have trade agreements with the US being charged tariffs beyond the agreed limits, as those agreements also include commitments regarding the prohibition of forced labour.