WASHINGTON:A new wave of US tariffs targeting 60 trading partners took effect yesterday, replacing an expiring global duty rolled out by President Donald Trump earlier this year.
The levies, which range from 10% to 12.5% and impact major economies like China, India and the European Union (EU), sparked protests from Beijing and other targets.
“The US has had a forced labour import ban for nearly a century, and rigorously enforces it; it’s well past time for our trading partners to do the same,” said US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
He earlier said that the targeted economies represent the majority of US trade.
The Trump administration has moved swiftly to rebuild the president’s tariff wall after the Supreme Court struck down a host of his duties in February – dealing a blow to his ability to unleash steep levies at will.
After the setback, Trump tapped different authorities to reimpose a 10% tariff on imports. But this only lasted 150 days and expired yesterday.
The volley of new duties, initially proposed in June, now takes its place.
The measures were planned after a months-long investigation and are considered more resistant to legal challenges than earlier moves.
Under Thursday’s announcement, economies that have implemented a forced labour import prohibition or committed to do so were hit with the lower 10% rate. They include Canada, the EU, India and the UK.
China, Japan, South Korea and dozens of others were deemed to deserve the higher 12.5% tariff.
But the EU, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Switzerland received some relief in line with trade pacts they previously reached with the US.
The new levies received swift condemnation from target countries, with Japan saying it “regrets” the duties and Australia’s trade minister calling them “unjustified.”
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said Beijing opposed “all forms of unilateral tariff measures,” and warned that trade wars were “not in the interests of any party.”
The EU expressed relief after the announcement, saying the new levies were “in line with the US tariff commitments agreed under the EU-US Joint Statement.”
Goods already facing sector-specific tariffs like steel and aluminum will not be impacted.
Certain energy products and fertilisers will also be exempt, alongside products covered by the US-Mexico-Canada free trade pact, a US official told reporters.
Washington is separately probing 16 economies over excess industrial capacity, in probes that could lead to additional duties.
These could eventually result in varying rates among countries, experts warn.
The Trump administration’s move to impose a baseline tariff while sustaining the threat of further duties maintains leverage over its trading partners, trade lawyer Greta Peisch told AFP.
It also creates an incentive for countries to comply with trade pacts that they earlier struck, she added.
The Trump administration has been hunting for options that would allow it to aggressively deploy tariffs, said former US trade official Ryan Majerus.
In the longer term, Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which Greer tapped to impose the latest duties, provides “more flexibility than people realize,” Majerus said.
Once in place, officials can modify them based on new developments, added Majerus, a partner at King & Spalding.
The latest salvo comes shortly after a 25% tariff took effect on various Brazilian goods, as Washington accused the Latin American giant of unfair trade practices.
This week, Trump also ordered 50% tariffs on many Canadian products, citing unfair treatment of US goods.
