Trump imposes new tariffs on 60 countries
Claiming they are engaging in continuing forced labor practices, President Donald Trump has placed tariffs of 10 to 12% on 60 U.S. trading partners.
The new duties went into effect at 12:01 a.m. ET Friday, July 24, just as a temporary 10% tariff Trump set on those countries in February 2026 expired. In an online fact sheet, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) said following investigations into the use of forced labor to produce goods, the top 60 U.S. trading partners will have a 10 or 12.5% tariff placed on their imports, with certain product exemptions.
These tariffs will affect 99.4% of all imports to the U.S., according to the fact sheet. Countries subject to the 10% tariff rate include leading trade partners Canada, Mexico, India and the U.K. The European Union, which is the largest trading partner of the U.S., now has a 12.5% tariff on its imports, as does Taiwan.
The new global trade rules essentially continue a 10% tariff rate the U.S. and U.K. agreed to in May 2025, and actually lowers a 15% tariff on most goods the U.S. and E.U. set in July 2025. They are being imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which is a different legal rationale than Trump has used in previous attempts at setting tariffs.
“President Trump is tackling modern-day slavery at its source by requiring our trading partners to enact and enforce import bans to ensure products made by workers under such horrifying conditions are no longer traded in global commerce," USTR said in the fact sheet. “Today’s action strikes an overdue blow against the prevalence of forced labor in global supply chains and sends a clarion call to the world to join the U.S. in adopting the most common sense of policies to combat this indefensible practice.”
Kaja Kallas, V.P. of the European Commission (the E.U. executive body), told Reuters the E.U. does not engage in forced labor practices.
“If you compare our labor laws to the ones of the U.S., I mean, we have paid vacations, we have very good labor conditions for our employees, so it’s not really grounded,” Kallas said.
Exempt items include some auto, metal, pharmaceutical and fuel products. A full list of countries subject to the new tariffs and exempt products is available here.
Tariffs – a brief history
President Trump has made a range of efforts to impose tariffs on imported goods since placing a 10% tariff on Chinese imports in February 2025, citing unfair trade practices. In March 2025, Trump enacted a 25% levy on nearly all goods coming to the U.S. from Canada and all products being imported from Mexico. The president also doubled the tariff he imposed the previous month on Chinese products to 20%.
In April 2025, Trump issued an executive order which places a baseline 10% tariff on all goods being imported to the U.S. from other countries, as well as 25% tariff on all imported automobiles. In addition, 60 countries which charge higher duties on U.S. imports had higher tariffs imposed on their goods coming into the country.
[READ MORE: Trump issues reciprocal tariffs]
However, in February 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Trump Administration does not have the authority to unilaterally impose tariffs on imported products under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA.
And in April 2026, U.S. Customs and Border opened a digital portal allowing businesses affected by tariffs unilaterally set under IEEPA to apply for refunds, following an order from the U.S. Court of International Trade.
According to CNBC, analysis from Citi indicated that the U.S. government is liable for repaying a total of $166 billion in tariff refunds, plus interest, to businesses including U.S. retailers and brands such as Walmart ($10.2 billion), Target ($2.2 billion), Nike ($1 billion back), Kohl's ($550 million), Gap ($400 million), and Macy's ($320 million).
Some tariffs previously set by the Trump administration using other legal justifications have remained in effect.
