US Imposes New Tariffs of Up to 12.5 Percent on 60 Trading Partners Starting Friday

The United States will begin imposing new tariffs of up to 12.5 per cent on imported goods from 60 of its trading partners, including Japan, South Korea and the European Union, from Friday (24/7/2026). The policy is being implemented on the grounds that partner countries are deemed not to have adequately prohibited imports of goods produced through forced labour.

The announcement was made on Thursday, ahead of the expiry of the 10 per cent global tariff introduced by the US in February, shortly after the Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs” policy, as well as fentanyl-related levies on goods from China, Canada and Mexico.

“President Trump recognises that decades of moral persuasion have failed to eradicate forced labour from global supply chains,” said US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in a statement.

“The United States has applied a ban on goods made with forced labour for nearly a century and enforces it strictly. It is time our trading partners did the same,” Greer said.

Under a different legal authority, the Trump administration previously imposed a 10 per cent tariff. However, that tariff could only remain in effect for 150 days unless extended through congressional approval.