US Imposes New Tariffs on 60 Countries Including Indonesia
The United States government, under the leadership of President Donald Trump, has once again tightened its trade policy. This time, Washington has officially announced the imposition of new import tariffs on 60 trading partners, citing concerns over forced labour practices in those countries.
The policy was announced on Thursday (23 July) local time and came into effect on Friday (24 July). The move replaces the temporary global tariff scheme, whose validity period was about to expire.
The new tariffs range from 10% to 12.5%, targeting major trading partners such as China, India, Japan, the European Union and Indonesia.
United States Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer stressed that the policy is an instrument to encourage partner countries to get serious about banning goods produced through forced labour.
“The United States has had a ban on imports of goods made with forced labour for nearly a century and enforces it strictly. It is time for our trading partners to do the same,” Greer said.
Under the new policy, the USTR has divided trading partners into two main categories based on the effectiveness of their regulations prohibiting forced labour. Indonesia falls into the group subject to a 10% tariff.
The USTR office noted that at least 54 countries and territories are considered not to have effectively implemented bans on imports of goods made with forced labour, and therefore face higher tariffs.
The move is an effort by the Trump administration to rebuild its tariff policy after it was previously struck down by the US Supreme Court in February.
As a short-term solution, Trump had imposed a 10% tariff under a different legal basis, which was only valid for 150 days and expired on Friday.
The US government claims the new scheme has a far stronger legal foundation because it was drawn up following months of in-depth investigation. However, not all products are affected by the policy, with several exceptions established.
With the policy in force, businesses in partner countries, including Indonesian exporters, are expected to adjust their labour compliance standards in order to maintain the competitiveness of their products in the US market.