Trump imposes forced labour duties on 60 trading partners

The United States is imposing new tariffs on 60 trading partners with immediate effect, including on goods from the EU. The office of US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced on Thursday that the tariffs, amounting to 10 per cent and 12.5 per cent respectively, would be levied from 06:01 German time this Friday. In effect, they replace the temporary global tariffs of 10 per cent that US President Donald Trump is no longer permitted to levy following the expiry of the legally permitted 150-day period.

For the new tariffs, the US is relying on a different section of the same law as before. This time, the justification given is the alleged inadequacy of measures taken by trading partners to combat forced labour. According to US figures, the new tariffs affect 99.4 per cent of all imports. Exemptions include, among other things, products such as steel and aluminium, which are already subject to certain other tariffs. Oil and gas are also unaffected, a senior US official told the German Press Agency. Further exemptions apply to goods that had already been loaded onto a ship.

Depending on the trading partner, US investigations have determined that either a 10 per cent or 12.5 per cent tariff constitutes an “appropriate rate”, according to the statement from Washington. The EU is listed in the statement alongside Japan, Switzerland, and other countries as trading partners for which both rates are specified.

Same law, different clause

Today, Friday, marks the expiry of the statutory deadline for the previous global tariffs. Following his defeat before the US Supreme Court, Trump hastily imposed new global tariffs of 10 per cent in February. The basis for the new import duties is Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which permits the imposition of a duty of up to 15 per cent for a maximum of 150 days. After that, the US Congress would have to give its approval – given the already high inflation, this is highly unlikely.

In February, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump’s earlier tariffs against dozens of trading partners – including the EU – were unlawful when imposed under an emergency law. A clear majority of the justices ruled that Trump had exceeded his powers as president. As a result, the US government must refund billions in tariffs.

Observers expected that Trump would now provide a new justification for the tariffs. The government can thus invoke the same trade law from 1974 to impose new tariffs on the basis of a different section. Section 301 grants the government the power to take appropriate action in the event of trade practices that are proven to be “unjustified, unreasonable, or discriminatory”.

In early June, the US had threatened to impose tariffs on 60 economies on the grounds that they had failed to prevent imports of products allegedly made using forced labour or had not adequately enforced existing import bans.

A prerequisite for imposing tariffs under Section 301 is that the government must first have sought comments and held hearings. This was most recently the case with Brazil, when Greer announced a 25 per cent tariff on certain goods from the South American country. The investigation had revealed a multitude of unfair trade practices, it was stated.

Uncertainty over the “Turnberry Deal”

Until now, a tariff of up to 15 per cent had applied to most imports from the EU. This relates to the bilateral trade agreement between the EU and the US, also known as the “Turnberry Deal”. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Trump had agreed on this in August 2025 to avert a looming trade war.

Brussels made further concessions, such as the abolition of EU tariffs on US industrial goods. However, given the erratic nature of Trump’s policies, the EU has also built in a safety net: should the US fail to fully implement its commitments or suspend agreements, the EU’s concessions can be suspended. This includes, for example, renewed tariff increases.

According to sources in Brussels, Washington has so far adhered to the agreement, at least in most cases. An EU official stated that around 93 per cent of EU exports to the United States were subject to tariffs of no more than 15 per cent. For the remaining products, however, the rate is higher: this applies, for example, to cheese, which is effectively subject to a tariff of just under 25 per cent. (dpa/cs)