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Trump Readies New Tariffs on 60 Countries as His 10% Global Levy Expires Friday

The White House has prepared duties of 10% to 12.5% on dozens of trading partners over forced-labor concerns, replacing a temporary blanket tariff that lapses this week after the Supreme Court struck down his earlier trade agenda.

Trump Readies New Tariffs on 60 Countries as His 10% Global Levy Expires Friday
Image via The Star

The Trump administration is preparing to slap fresh tariffs on roughly 60 trading partners as soon as this week, moving to replace a temporary 10% global levy that is set to expire on Friday, according to officials briefed on the plans.

The new duties, expected to range from 10% to 12.5%, are being framed around allegations that dozens of countries have failed to act against forced labor in their supply chains — a legal rationale the administration is using to rebuild President Trump's trade agenda after a bruising setback. In February, the Supreme Court struck down a sweeping set of his earlier tariffs, and the 10% across-the-board duty was imposed as a stopgap while lawyers searched for firmer legal footing.

Under the plan taking shape, a 10% rate would hit imports from partners including Canada, the European Union, Mexico, Taiwan and the United Kingdom, while goods from more than 40 other major economies — among them China, India and Japan — would face the steeper 12.5% levy. Officials say the tiered structure is designed to survive court challenges by tying the duties to specific labor-standards findings rather than to broad emergency powers.

The forced-labor tariffs are only the latest volley in a widening trade offensive. Last week, Washington announced a fresh 25% duty on certain Brazilian goods, and on Monday it unveiled a 50% levy on a broad list of Canadian products set to take effect in 30 days. Taken together, the measures amount to one of the most aggressive rounds of tariff-building since Trump returned to office, and they threaten to reignite retaliation from major partners.

Business groups and importers warned that the rapid-fire changes are making it nearly impossible to plan, with duty rates on the same goods shifting week to week as legal theories evolve. Economists cautioned that even single-digit tariffs applied across most of America's trading relationships would ripple through consumer prices, adding to costs on everything from cars and electronics to food and apparel at a moment when households are already stretched.

Foreign capitals reacted with a mix of alarm and calculation. Some governments signaled they would seek carve-outs by pointing to their own labor enforcement records, while others warned of countermeasures against American exports. With the stopgap levy lapsing in a matter of days, companies on both sides of the border were bracing for another abrupt reset of the rules governing trillions of dollars in global trade.

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