US signals new 10% to 12.5% tariffs on dozens of countries ‘soon,’ says Jamieson Greer | Today’s news
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Tuesday that new tariffs targeting dozens of countries could be announced soon as President Donald Trump’s temporary global tariff regime expires later this week.
“The United States has laws that prohibit the trade in goods with forced labor. Most other countries don’t have laws; the ones that do, they don’t really enforce it,” he told CNBC. “We expect to see some action soon.
However, he could not specify a timeline.
While Trump imposed a 10% global tariff this year after the Supreme Court struck down a number of his tariffs in February, that tax expires on Friday.
Analysts expect the planned duties on forced labor concerns – which range between 10% and 12.5% - to replace the temporary duties.
Greer added on Tuesday that the new measure would affect the vast majority of US trade.
Greer’s comments come as the Trump administration recently proposed a wave of new tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on goods from the countries over alleged failures to combat forced labor.
Time is running out on President Donald Trump’s temporary 10% global tariff, which was imposed in February under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 after the Supreme Court struck down his broader “Liberation Day” tariff policy. The measure is set to expire at 12:01 a.m. ET on Friday unless Congress takes action to extend it — a move widely considered unlikely. Still, the Trump administration has already begun laying the groundwork to maintain its broader tariff strategy through new trade actions.
In early June, the Office of the US Trade Representative proposed additional tariffs of up to 12.5% on imports from 60 economies. The new tariffs, imposed under another section of the 1974 Trade Act, Section 301, would be imposed in response to the alleged forced labor.
