- President Donald Trump will impose a broad tariff regime on 60 countries, including Canada, as temporary tariffs expire.
- The new 10% tariffs will take effect at 12:01 a.m. Friday, replacing Trump's expiring global tariffs.
- The tariffs are being imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, targeting countries for forced labor practices.
- The U.S. Trade Representative stated that today's action aims to correct human rights abuses and improve worker welfare.
- Countries including Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom will face a baseline 10% tariff.
- Trump's previous temporary tariffs were implemented after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down his earlier tariffs.
- The new tariffs are part of a broader strategy to address unjustifiable trade practices and protect American workers.
President Donald Trump has imposed new tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on 60 countries, including Canada, as previous global levies expire. The U.S. Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, stated that these tariffs are aimed at addressing forced labor practices in supply chains.1345
The new tariffs will cover 99.4% of U.S. trade and are set to take effect at 12:01 a.m. Friday. This action is part of a broader strategy under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows the president to impose tariffs against countries engaging in unjustifiable or discriminatory trade practices. Greer emphasized that this is the most significant international labor rights action ever taken by the U.S.27
The tariffs will replace Trump's expiring 10% global tariffs and will not stack on existing import taxes on steel and aluminum. The administration has targeted countries for their failure to stop imports of products made with forced labor, with Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom facing the baseline 10% tariff.
Greer noted, “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.” The Canadian government had previously indicated that new legislation against forced labor should protect it from such tariffs, but it remains unclear if any exemptions exist under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement.
“The new tariffs are imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, targeting countries accused of tolerating forced labor. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said goods compliant under the CUSMA free trade agreement would be exempt, while the U.S. administration did not immediately clarify whether such an exemption exists.”
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