WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is imposing new double-digit tariffs on goods coming from 60 nations to crack down on forced labor, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced Thursday.
The sweeping levies kick in at midnight Friday and will touch 99.4 percent of all U.S. imports. The policy hits almost every major American trading partner.
Nations that pledged to ban forced labor imports face a 10 percent tariff. Countries without those bans in place get hit with a 12.5 percent tax.
The administration is using Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to enact these changes. This move comes after the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s earlier “liberation day” tariffs. The new duties replace expiring emergency tariffs set under Section 122 of the trade law.
The White House says the goal is pushing trading partners to wipe out forced labor from global supply chains.
“The United States has had a forced labor import ban for nearly a century, and rigorously enforces it; it’s well past time for our trading partners to do the same,” Greer said in a statement.
Greer added that the move addresses both moral and economic problems.
“Today’s action will begin to correct what is both a human rights abuse and distortive trade practice to improve the welfare of workers everywhere,” he continued.
This decision marks the second major trade penalty rolled out this week. On Monday, the administration placed a 50 percent tariff on select Canadian items over what officials called “discriminatory” trade practices.
Trump also warned he may slap additional tariffs on Canada over its handling of forest fires that send smoke into the U.S.
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