Trump Imposes New 10-12.5% Import Tariffs, Indonesia Included

The United States government has imposed new import tariffs of 10% and 12.5% on goods from 60 trading partners, including Indonesia, effective today. The policy, which targets nations the US claims lack sufficient enforcement against forced labour, comes as a temporary 10% tariff expired. Under the final ruling, a 10% tariff applies to imports from countries such as Argentina, Bangladesh, the United Kingdom, Cambodia, Canada, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, the European Union, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and Switzerland face a 12.5% tariff when combined with existing most-favoured-nation rates. The White House stated the move aims to revive President Donald Trump’s campaign vision for near-universal import tariffs. This follows a February Supreme Court decision that struck down Trump’s previous reciprocal tariff policy of 10-50%, which had been enacted under a national emergency law to address the trade deficit. The new tariffs, published in the Federal Register, will cover 99.4% of US imports, though products such as oil, gas, fertilisers, and certain food items are excluded. The policy is enforced under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, a legal basis considered more robust as it has withstood previous legal challenges. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer stated that the US has strictly enforced its own ban on forced labour imports for nearly a century and expects its trading partners to do the same. Goods already in transit will be exempt until 28 July.