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The Administration of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, announced this Thursday new tariffs of between 10% and 12.5% on imports from 60 countries and economies, justifying it with an investigation into "insufficient efforts to combat forced labor," a measure that comes hours before the expiration of the current 10% temporary global tariff imposed by Washington.
The new tariffs, announced by the office of the United States Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, are intended to replace the 10% temporary global tariff imposed by Trump, which expires this Friday morning, and represents a new phase in the trade war imposed by Trump since April 2025.
Trump imposed a 10% temporary tariff in February after the Supreme Court struck down most of his global tariffs, using the legal shield of the so-called Section 301.
The new levies establish an additional 10% tariff for imports from 17 economies and 12.5% for others, while for some trading partners the rates vary depending on the product.
In Latin America, the measure affects Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, which will face an additional 10% tariff, while Costa Rica, Panama, and the Dominican Republic will be subject to a 12.5% levy.
For the 27 economies of the European Union, the Trump Administration is imposing a joint tariff of 10%.
Also included among the affected economies are India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Switzerland, Canada, and the United Kingdom, although the applicable rates vary in some cases according to the origin and type of imported product.
China, with higher and specific tariffs, does not appear on the new list.
The measure stems from investigations initiated by Greer's office in March, under Section 301 of U.S. trade law, to determine whether those countries' policies and practices related to the ban on importing goods produced by forced labor harm U.S. workers and companies.
Following investigations and consultations with the affected governments, Greer's office determined that the identified practices justify the adoption of trade measures.
Trump's tariff policy, one of the cornerstones of his economic agenda since his return to the White House in January 2025, has been marked by a legal dispute over the scope of presidential powers to impose levies on foreign trade.
After the Supreme Court struck down most of his global tariffs, the Administration has resorted to other legal tools, such as Section 301, to maintain its trade strategy and apply new levies on imports.
[Publicidad]