US President Donald Trump has unveiled a fresh tariff strategy targeting imports from dozens of countries, marking the administration’s latest effort to tighten trade measures after the Supreme Court struck down his broad tariff policy earlier this year.
Under the new plan, goods imported from dozens of America’s trading partners, including countries in Europe, China and India, will attract tariffs ranging from 10 to 12.5 per cent from 12:01 a.m. on Friday.
According to the Office of the US Trade Representative, the affected countries account for about 99.4 per cent of all US imports.
The move comes as a previous 10 per cent blanket tariff imposed by Trump expires.
Senior White House officials said the administration remains determined to pursue its trade agenda despite the court ruling that blocked its earlier approach.
“The president is not going to allow his trade policy and overall objectives to be undermined simply because one tool may be limited by a court,” officials said during a briefing on Thursday.
The new tariffs follow an investigation by the US Trade Representative into allegations that some countries export goods produced with forced labour while failing to adequately address the issue.
However, several products, including oil, gas and goods that cannot be sourced domestically, have been exempted from the new duties.
Administration officials said the rollout was designed to provide businesses with greater certainty by replacing, rather than overlapping, the previous tariffs.
“We have heard loud and clear that businesses want to know what tariff rate they are going to pay,” one official said, noting that companies had grown frustrated with months of shifting trade policies.
Some countries secured the lower 10 per cent tariff after taking measures to address concerns over forced labour.
Others will continue to face the higher 12.5 per cent rate because US officials said they were not satisfied with their progress.
For now, American consumers are unlikely to see an immediate rise in prices since importers have already been paying similar duties.
However, officials acknowledged that the impact could become more noticeable in the coming weeks and months.
The administration is also pursuing additional trade investigations under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, including one examining whether major trading partners such as China, Mexico and the European Union are contributing to global manufacturing overcapacity.
Unlike the emergency tariff powers previously rejected by the Supreme Court, Section 301 tariffs are widely regarded as more legally durable and can remain in force indefinitely.
The White House is also considering other ways to increase border taxes.
Earlier this week, it announced plans to impose a 50 per cent tariff on selected Canadian goods next month under a little-used provision of the Smoot-Hawley Trade Act.
