US brings in new tariffs on 60 trading partners

A new round of United States tariffs on 60 trading partners took effect on Friday, replacing a global duty introduced earlier in the year by President Donald Trump that had expired.

The new levies range from 10 percent to 12.5 percent and affect major economies including China, India and the European Union. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the targeted economies account for most US trade. He said the United States has long had and enforced a forced labour import ban, and said trading partners should do the same.

The Trump administration moved to rebuild its tariff programme after the Supreme Court struck down several duties in February. After that ruling, Trump used different authorities to impose a 10 percent tariff on imports, but that measure lasted 150 days and expired on Friday. The new duties, first proposed in June, followed a months-long investigation and are described in the report as more resistant to legal challenges than earlier measures.

Under the announcement, economies that have introduced a forced labour import ban or promised to do so received the lower 10 percent tariff. They include Canada, the European Union, India and the United Kingdom. China, Japan, South Korea and dozens of others were assigned the higher 12.5 percent rate.

The EU, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Switzerland received some relief connected to trade agreements previously reached with Washington. Goods already subject to sector-specific duties, including steel and aluminum, will not be affected. A US official said certain energy products and fertilizers are also exempt, as are products covered by the US-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement.

The measures drew criticism from several affected countries. Japan said it regretted the duties. Australia's trade minister called them unjustified. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said Beijing opposed unilateral tariff measures and warned that trade wars were not in any party's interests. The EU said the new levies matched US tariff commitments made in an EU-US joint statement.

Washington is also investigating 16 economies over excess industrial capacity. Those probes could lead to additional tariffs and, according to experts cited in the report, possibly different rates among countries.

Trade lawyer Greta Peisch told AFP that imposing a baseline tariff while keeping open the possibility of more duties gives Washington leverage over trading partners and creates an incentive for countries to comply with trade agreements. She said officials had spent time on investigations to make the tariffs more robust against possible court challenges.

Josh Lipsky of the Atlantic Council told AFP the measures make it more likely the tariffs will stay in place for the duration of Trump's term and signal a more protectionist course for the world's largest economy. He also said reviving tariffs increases government revenue.

Former US trade official Ryan Majerus said the administration had been looking for ways to use tariffs aggressively. He said Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which Greer used for the latest duties, gives officials flexibility to change measures after they are in place.

The report said the latest tariffs followed a 25 percent tariff on various Brazilian goods, with Washington accusing Brazil of unfair trade practices. Trump also ordered new 50 percent tariffs on many Canadian products this week, citing what he called Ottawa's discriminatory treatment of American alcohol, automobile and dairy products. Lipsky said the Canadian duties rely on an untested legal provision, showing that US tariff agreements remain fragile.